EU executive seeks big price cuts in roaming calls

By Huw Jones

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Sending a text message from the beach or surfing the Web by laptop in a bar will be nearly two-thirds cheaper for travellers from next summer under draft rules published by the European Commission on Tuesday.

Plans by EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding extend rules introduced in 2007 to cut the cost in the EU of roaming -- making and receiving mobile phone calls abroad.

It marks the latest clash between Brussels and the telecoms industry, whose leaders like Vodafone say the EU rules could in the end make it more expensive to own a handset.

Operators say roaming tariffs are already falling and they need flexibility. The Commission says cheaper services will spur people to make more calls and use the Web more often, generating more income for telecoms companies over time.

"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," Reding told reporters.

The European Parliament and EU states have the final say and the rules are set to come into force on July 1 next year.

"Text messaging from a foreign country is still disproportionately expensive. We now need a political decision to set upper limits," said Angelika Niebler, the centre-right chairman of parliament's industry committee.

"Consumers are being charged up to 10 times more than domestic rates for sending texts," said Arlene McCarthy, the socialist chairwoman of parliament's internal market committee.