Only days before new EU regulations come into force, Orange and T-Mobile have both introduced new low-cost data bundles for customers using their phones when travelling within Europe.
The new price packages are specifically designed to protect customers from unknowingly racking up huge bills, and once the €50 limit has been reached, consumers will have to contact their service provider to specifically ask for more.
T-Mobile's spokesman, Ralf Pearson, said that the company's new Euro Broadband Booster provided an agreed amount of data that could be purchased as an add-on to its pay-per-day or pay-monthly USB mobile broadband deals.
"As 40 per cent of customers say they want to stay connected when they travel with their laptops, we're launching Euro Broadband Boosters so they can do this without having to worry about the costs getting out of control," said Pearson.
Orange, meanwhile, is offering a €2 for 2Mb package for accessing its mobile broadband services within the EU. The package will be charged for each day customers go online, and will remain valid for 24 hours. However, it is an opt-in service, and failing to do so will see costs default to the standard €4 for 1Mb charge.
The amended Roaming Regulations first came into force in July last year, but the European Commission built in an eight-month "transparency period" for providers to make the switch. The new terms will be reviewed in June 2011 to assess whether further proposals are necessary.
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