EC to cap roaming SMS charges at 13 cents

The EU Commission wants to impose new and uniform maximum rates on sending SMSs while roaming from next summer. During a press conference on Tuesday, Viviane Reding, the EU Commissioner responsible for regulating telecommunications markets, said consumers should then pay no more than 13 cents, including taxes, for sending an SMS while roaming. That's over the top limit of 11 cents per SMS that Reding recently demanded, but it does lie within the range of 11 to 15 cents that Dániel Pataki, chairman of the European Regulators Group (ERG) called "reasonable" in July.

The EU Commission effected a reduction of up to 60 per cent in the cost of mobile roaming last year, and European consumers can expect a similar cut in the cost of SMSs from the middle of next year. A decision by Brussels regulators on lowering tariffs for using a mobile phone or a data card to surf the internet while roaming in Europe is still pending.

(jbe)