EU lawmakers have unveiled plans to combat the high costs of sending text messages from abroad. Regulators believe that consumers should not pay more for their texts than they do when they are in their own countries and are currently constructing a legal framework to ensure that telecoms companies reduce their charges.

In reaction to these proposed laws, mobile phone firms have complained that they need to remain competitive and customers are getting a good deal. However, an EU Commission spokesperson pointed out that these firms had already been given a chance to regulate their own costs and introduce price reductions. But this has been ignored and the soaring cost of text messages now means that the EU will have to enforce a price capping system

The Commission also highlighted the fact that around 2.5 billion texts are sent by travelers who are roaming through European countries and these texts can cost as much as 10 times more than domestic messages. The European body stated that it no longer wished to see its citizens being ripped off by these hugely profitable mobile corporations.

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These days, using your mobile phone to keep in touch with close friends and relatives normally means that you will spend a lot of time making calls or sending a large volume of text messages during any given day. Surveys have shown that mobile phone users in the UK spend around £8 billion on extra text and minute packages.

On average, a British mobile phone owner will exceed the limits set by their network providers by around 22 voice minutes and 24 texts. Unsurprisingly, this results in an extra £120-£130 on their bill.

Phone owners should take the time to closely inspect their current contract and pay particular attention to tariff rates. There is no harm in contacting your provider to find out whether there are any packages that will give greater voice call and text usage for the same cost as your current tariff.

In any event, you should shop around in order to make yourself aware of the best offers that are available on the phone market. There are probably numerous occasions where you have wondered how you’ve managed to be charged such a high amount for mobile phone use.

By using the Save On Bills comparison service you will be able to locate the best deals in the mobile phone arena.

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Once you have purchased your mobile phone you may want to consider insurance, especially if you have spent a considerable amount of time and money ensuring that you have acquired the best mobile package to suit your needs.

You can either opt for purchasing insurance cover from your current network provider or from an independent mobile insurance company. Selecting one of these two options is dependant upon your personal preferences.

Should you choose to use your current network provider to insure your phone you will find it relatively easy to replace a lost or stolen handset. Additionally, you will normally find that your provider will replace your phone with a model that has the same features. Basically, you should shop around for mobile insurance as an independent insurer may be able to offer the same benefits as a network provider but at a cheaper cost .

When examining any insurance policy you should take the time to ensure that it at least covers accidental damage, cover for your phone if it is stolen or mislaid in the UK or whilst abroad and the actual cost of the cover .

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You’re ready to purchase a mobile phone but you really don’t want to commit to a contract. So another option is to select a Pay As You Go phone. Pay As You Go refers to a phone where the owner is able to prepay for call or text usage. Unlike most other contract packages you will not receive a free mobile phone and will need to pay the full rate for your mobile device.

A major advantage of a Pay As You Go mobile phone is that you will be able to monitor how much you are spending quite easily because you will not receive a monthly bill. If you are someone who has to constantly keep on top of your budget then this is the correct phone for your needs. Additionally, if you don’t like your mobile provider then you can simply purchase another phone without worrying about being on the wrong end of a financial penalty for trying to opt out of a 6 or 12 month contract.

Unfortunately, if you own a Pay As You Go phone you will find that you will pay a higher rate for texts and calls than you would for a monthly contract package. You will only get access to free texts and calls if you credit your phone by a weekly amount that has been pre-set by your provider.

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A survey of 27,000 homes ,which was conducted on behalf of the European Commission, has revealed that around 25% of households in the European union have discarded phone land line use in favour of exclusive mobile phone use and a fifth of those were also using the internet to make their calls.

The Commission’s survey of 27 European countries also revealed that the percentage of households using mobile phones increased to nearly 40% in nations that were previously under the control of communist regimes. In these countries, respondents found that it was far cheaper to use a mobile phone than to pay for a land line upgrade.

However, Finland boasted a household mobile phone use rate of over 60%. It is estimated that nearly half of all European homes have internet access but only 36% are able to use broadband. The Commission has made no secret of its desire to see an increase in the use of broadband across member states

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According to Dutch based independent research company,Telecompaper ,consumer demand is set to trigger massive growth in the European mobile broadband market. Industry analysts estimate that mobile broadband demand will increase by 30% each year.

Switzerland Greece and the UK are amongst the countries that are expected to experience significant growth in this sector. It is also expected that as much as 17 million broadband modems will be transported throughout Europe by 2012.

However, news of this expected growth was dampened when the Telecomms Commissioner for the European Union appeared to suggest that those who have mobile phones may face being charged for receiving incoming calls in future and added that the European body had the right to review pricing structures.

The news is also surprising as ,in recent times, representatives of the European Commission had stated that they were seeking to explore how texting and other mobile phone related charges could offer more value for money for consumers.

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If you don’t currently own a mobile phone you are in a very small minority. Modern trends in our home and work lifestyles mean that people need to be able to communicate with each other constantly. Such is the change in our outlook on mobile phone communications that we often identify with our personal phone number in much the same way as we identify with our names. This is a significant aspect of phone usage because many individuals are unwilling to change to cheaper network tariffs if they cannot retain their current number.

However, help is at hand. From the 1st April 2008, Ofcom regulations have made the procedure for moving your phone number between networks much easier. This process is also known as number porting. Previously, if you had wanted to switch your number from one network to another you could expect to face a five day wait. However, these new rules mean that networks now have to move numbers within two days. The time span for this procedure is expected to drop to two hours by the end of 2009.

To put it simply, you no longer have to worry about losing your current phone number or face a long delay, if you wish to move to a cheaper network. Now is the ideal time to employ the use of an online comparison service to find the mobile phone deal that best suits your needs.

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If you only want to make and receive calls you certainly should opt for a basic mobile phone. It is the norm for even the cheapest handset to have features such as text messaging, voicemail, alarm clocks and so on . On the other hand you may want a phone with the latest technological gadgets and multimedia capabilities. If you are a business person you may wish to purchase a handset that comes with internet connections.

The reality is that there are hundreds of mobile phone packages that are available to customers. You need to decide what type of user you are. Are you a functional user who sees the phone as a basic communicating tool? Are you a social/entertainment user who sees their phone device as a means of keeping in contact with friends on social networking websites such as Facebook ? Perhaps you are a company owner who needs to keep a close eye on business operations ?

Whatever the type of user you think you are, it is not in your best interests to purchase the first mobile handset you come across. You should use a comparison website to find the best deals.

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When you choose your mobile phone you should initially consider what you actually need the phone for. You may say that you simply want your phone to make calls but it is increasingly the case that many people require a multi-functional communicating device for their every day family or business needs.

If you closely examine your own phone use and communication patterns it might surprise you to see that your needs are not as simple as you may have first thought.

Phone users’ requirements can vary on a daily basis and you may want to look at a range of factors prior to purchasing a mobile handset. For instance, Do you use your phone every day? What networks do your friends and family use? How many texts do you send each day ? Do you need your mobile for evening use only ?

There is no point in purchasing one mobile phone only to realize that you bought a model that doesn’t suit your needs. This will be a waste of your time and money.

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Phone giant ,T-Mobile, has unveiled a new product in an effort to widen its consumer base. The ‘Solo sim only deal’ means that customers no longer have to sign up to a long term contract but are only required to commit to a 30 day rolling contract. These deals can work out to be far more cost-efficient than ‘pay as you go’ products because the new mobile phone package offers up to 350 minutes and 650 texts to other networks for as little as £15 per month. If consumers opt to increase their payments to £35 per month they will be entitled to a whopping 1800 minutes with unlimited texts.

Not to be outdone, Virgin Mobile have launched their own ‘sim only’ mobile phone deal where customers who sign up for a six month contract can use 200 minutes and 200 texts per month.

However, those consumers who still don’t like the idea of committing to a mobile phone contract are still able to purchase phones for as little as £5 from supermarket retailers such as Tesco and Asda

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