Mobile phone roaming fee cap backed

A 45-3 vote of the European Parliament's Industry Committee in Brussels supported compulsory price limits - potentially reducing phone bills by two-thirds in some cases.

The MEP who pushed through a compromise proposal, Paul Rubig, urged EU ministers afterwards to speed through a final deal and bring in lower rates in time for the summer holidays when many Europeans are faced with "outrageous" roaming costs.

"This is a clear signal from the European Parliament to consumers, as well as for the telecoms industry. We are not fixing prices, we are setting a maximum level which may not be exceeded," he said.

MEPs are also demanding automatic text messaging detailing roaming rates per minute to each user and a "warning icon" on all mobile phones, reminding callers they are "roaming".

Mr Rubig explained: "The idea is to generate competition and bring prices down across Europe.

"What we want for mobile phone users is price transparency, just as you expect in a restaurant - you don't order a meal and only find out a few weeks later what it cost when the bill comes in."

However, the GSM Association (GSMA), representing mobile operators, warned the proposals, if they remained unchanged, could cause distortions in the roaming market which would discourage operators from investing and competing. A statement said retail price regulation was "inappropriate and unprecedented" and against the EU principles of a market economy.

"The proposed price cap of 40 euro cents per minute for outgoing calls and 15 euro cents for receiving calls will force European mobile operators to offer roaming services at below cost and give them no scope to compete with each other on price and on new services."

The GSMA added: "At these price levels roaming customers will, in many cases, pay less than domestic customers for the same types of calls, thereby reintroducing market distortions."