Consumers have been warned that they could still face hefty charges for using mobile broadband services overseas.

According to the Guardian, 22-year-old student William Harrison faces a bill of £8,000 because European Union rules designed to prevent "bill shock" have not yet been implemented.

Despite being agreed upon last year, the new bill monitoring regime does not come into force until March 1st 2010.

The European Commission has ruled that £44 per month should be the maximum charged for consumers who exceed their data allowance, with services being cut off at this point.

Nottingham University student Mr Harrison had been using a dongle during a six-month placement in Paris.

He was initially told by a broadband provider operator that the device's 3GB data usage allowance would be ample for the mobile web services he desired.