Euro-rules limit cost of surfing internet

Customers can now oblige mobile phone operators to cut them off when their surfing bill reaches a pre-set amount.

If customers do not set their own spending limit, European Union rules require the operator not to allow the bill to exceed 50 euros a month without warning the mobile phone user in advance.

The 50-euro limit runs until July, by which time the Commission hopes users will routinely be informing their service provider of their required spending ceiling.

Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said: "From today everyone has the right to set their own spending limit for surfing the net, so they don't get a horrible shock at the end of the month, and find themselves charged huge amounts of money for using a so-called 'dongle' with your laptop or smart-phone to surf the internet."

He went on: "This limit is individually set – it can be 20 euro, 200 euro, or 2,000 euro or whatever. The idea is that, when 80 per cent of the cash limit has been reached, the operator will have to warn the customer that you are approaching the limit and will be cut off, unless that limit is changed, of course."

The Commission says that if service providers do not honour the spending limit set by the customers, national authorities will deal with complaints, and impose sanctions on operators if they consider it necessary to enforce today's new rules.

Mr Todd said net-surfing limits would encourage companies to cut prices.