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EU wants data roaming cuts
Thursday 14 February 2008
EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding has threatened to impose caps on roaming charges for data and text messaging if operators do not reduce roaming prices by July 1.
Reding told delegates at the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona,: "I have no appetite at all for regulating again. But to avoid regulation, the industry will have to show its responsiveness to consumer concerns by credible.”The following day T-Mobile announced that it’s set to cut its data roaming charges and introduce a flat rate roaming charge for data usage in countries within the European Union.
Mobile Internet users will now be charged 2 euros per megabyte and T-Mobile will also introduce a day pass that offers 50MB data usage for 15 euros. T-Mobile aims to introduce the new rates by the middle of the year.
But Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin has rejected Commissioner Reding’s calls for a cap, he said: "In a competitive industry, I do not think it is appropriate for a regulator to be talking about retail price regulation.”
