A vote by the European Parliament has removed the last hurdle to abolishing roaming surcharges in the EU. As of mid-June, mobile phones will be able to be used at home and abroad for the same cost.
Image: picture alliance/pixsell/S. Strukic
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The European Parliament on Thursday endorsed a deal for putting caps on the fees telecoms operators can charge each other for using each other's networks for cross-border calls and data exchanges, thus removing the final obstacle to the full abolition of so-called roaming surcharges.
The "wholesale price caps" covered in the deal ultimately affect the prices paid by consumers, which are already subject to limits.
The permissable surcharges across the EU have already fallen by 90 percent in the past 10 years.
Happy holidays
The vote means that the long-promised abolition of roaming surcharges can take effect as of June 15. From then on, consumers will be able to use their cell phones to make calls, send text messages or surf on the internet across the EU without any additional charges.
The new regulations also prevent misuse, however, by banning nationals of one country from signing a phone contract in another where the charges are much cheaper.
Billions of people the world over couldn't imagine life without a smartphone. It's been 20 years since the first such gadget hit the markets. Here are some quirky facts and developments you might not have known.
Image: DW/M.Bösch
Impressive dinosaur
This is what the world's first smartphone looked like. The Nokia 9000 Communicator had the features of a PC, complete with office software, Web browsing and fax function. Sales started on August 15, 1996. It cost around 1400 euros - or around half that with a contract.
Image: dpa/Nokia
Lightweight, but powerful
Modern-day smartphones have come a long way. But the fact that they weigh a lot less than earlier models does not mean they can do less. In fact, today's devices have millions of times the computing power of the computers used by Apollo 11 to land on the moon.
Image: Getty Images
Unexpected side effect
There are tons of apps to ensure smartphone users never have a dull moment, but some pieces of code can also be extremely useful for authorities. Indonesians are using donated devices to detect illegal logging through software that listens for the sound of chainsaws and then triggers an alert.
Image: Getty Images
Phone turned weatherman
Researchers from networking group OpenSignal have discovered that the sensors in Android-based smartphones designed to measure battery temperature, light intensity and pressure can also be used to come up with really accurate weather reports.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Pee power
Scientists from Bristol, England, have developed a fuel cell that can generate power for smartphones "from a single visit to the toilet." You can get three hours of phone calls from 600 milliliters of urine, with bacteria turning the liquid into electricity. On a somewhat related note, close to 100,000 smartphones are dropped into toilets annually by Britons alone.
Image: Imago
Roaming about
Celine Aarons from South Florida made headlines a couple of years ago when she received the biggest ever smartphone bill. She had to pay $201,000 (180,000 euros) after a message texting marathon while on holiday in Canada. Ever heard of roaming charges?
Image: Imago
Irreversible success story
There are now about 1.9 billion smartphone users globally, and that number is still rising steadily. Worldwide 349 million units were sold in the first quarter of this year alone, marking a 3.9 percent increase over 2015. The hottest-selling phone was Samsung's Galaxy S7, with Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus coming in a close second.
