Roaming charge ruling is not acceptable

The MLA said it had originally been agreed to end roaming charges at the end of 2015, but it now appeared those within the European Union had moved to block those plans.

Condemning this, Mr Devenney said: “I am hugely disappointed at the EU government for blocking plans to stop roaming charges.

“This is a very pertinent issue for those of us who live along the border area with the Republic of Ireland, where many of our telephone networks connect up to masts in the Republic and this can often lead to customers paying between £150 and £300 to phone companies on top of their network tariff. Without knowing, people are being charged international rates for domestic calls.

“The EU has now voted to end roaming charges in 2018. It is wrong and I am opposed to this change.”