Mobile phone roaming charges RMG02
MOBILE users here have been given a huge financial boost this week as roaming charges for crossborder users have been slashed following years of battling between the EU and phone companies.
The move has been hailed as having a big impact in cutting mobile phone bills for people living in Fermanagh and other border counties where roaming charges for crossborder phone use can incur hefty charges.
And local business chiefs have said the slashing of roamiNg charges will help bolster the local economy.
The new rates, which came into effect at the weekend, are the second reduction in the past two years and the last step before roaming charges are abolished completely next year.
Manager of O2 Enniskillen, Declan Devlin, said: “Practically, this is going to have two effects. First of all, it’s going to reduce the cost of using your phone abroad, and obviously that include the Republic. It’s also going affect many people living here in Fermanagh, where people’s phones can often switch to roaming without them realising it. You could be up a mountain, or out walking, and you might not realise your phone has switched to a signal from the Republic.”
Mr Devlin, pictured left, explained that many people had faced what is known as “bill shock” after their phones automatically switched to a southern network without them realising, an issue that can a happen almost anywhere in Fermanagh at times.
He added those living in border areas faced this problem daily, and had to ensure their phone network was always locked.
John Treacy, manager of Fermanagh Enterprise, is one such resident. Living between Belleek and Garrison, Mr Treacy said his phone regularly switched to a southern network miles before he gets home.
“Lets face it, when you approach a radius of three or four miles of the border you switch over and have to pay more money,” he said, adding he was all too aware of “bill shock.”
“Initially that’s what happened me, but I learned quickly,” he said. “Once bitten, twice shy, as they say.”
Speaking in his role as manager of Fermanagh Enterprise, Mr Treacy said the new changes would “certainly have a big impact” on local businesses.
“It will really give a boost to a lot of small business,” he said. “Take a micro-business, for example. They may be mobile in every sense, working from a van and travelling around. Connectivity and broadband is very important to small business, and for many micro-businesses their smartphone is their broadband.
“Business is all about being able to do things better, and this will save small businesses money, allowing them to be cheaper and more competitive.
We are looking forward to the playing field now being levelled.”
The new roaming charges, which came into affect last Saturday, have been reduced to 5c per minute per call (down from 19c), 2c per text (down from 6c), and 5c per minute per MB of data (down from 20c).
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