Jersey regulator wants cap on mobile roaming bills

People from Jersey should be able to avoid large phone bills when travelling under plans by the island's competition watchdog.

The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authority (CICRA) chief executive, Andrew Riseley says roaming bills should be limited to £40 monthly.

He said a simple maximum charge would prevent the shock of a big bill.

Government-owned telecom company JT says it welcomes the move to cap mobile phone roaming charges.

Mr Riseley said he had been discussing this plan with operators and it would be roughly the same as the system of limits used throughout the European Union.

He said: "We have proposed a cap of £40. You will be able to opt out of the cap if you want to but for users it is important to know the maximum exposure is £40.

"The existence of that cap means you won't come back to a £7,000 bill you did not expect."

JT says it sends its customers texts warning them of the cost and alerts customers when they have spent a certain amount.

Cable and Wireless said it was already in the process of testing a bill cap for roaming data that should be available later this year.