24 September 2008
The European Commission has announced plans to regulate the cost of sending text messages from mobile phones while abroad. Following its decision to cap the price of calls made across European borders, the commission now wants to cut costs for texting fans. At present, mobile phone users pay around 29 euro cents (22 pence) to send a text message to another EU country, but the commission wants to cut this to no more than 11 euro cents (eight pence). If the proposals are given the green light by the European Parliament, the pricing restrictions would come into force on July 1st next year. The commission is also believed to be considering plans to set advance limits on mobile internet usage while abroad to ensure customers to not receive unexpectedly high bills. Commenting, EU Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding said: "Using your mobile phone abroad in the EU should not cost unjustifiably more than at home, whether for making calls, sending texts or surfing the web." According to the Irish Independent, UK regulators have warned that caps on cross border mobile phone usage could lead to higher bills for receiving calls and texts from abroad.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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