European regulators have reached an agreement to further reduce the cost of using a mobile phone abroad in Europe.
The agreement, expected to be approved by the European Parliament's industry committee next month, will lower the cost of making calls, texting, or browsing the Internet beginning July 2009.
If approved, mobile operators will be faced with lower caps on maximum charges. As part of the agreement, the cost of sending a text in Europe will be capped at 11 cents (10p), a significant drop from the current average of 29 cents (27p).
Similarly, data costs will be capped at 1 euro (92p) per megabyte from July 2009, falling to 80 cents (74p) per megabyte a year later. In addition, the agreement outlines that mobile users should be charged no more than 43 cents (40p) per minute for calls made in Europe, and that operators must provide customers with a spending cap - warning them if they're at risk of excessive bills.
The GSM Association has voiced its disappointment over the EU's plans, but faces further scrutiny as EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding also plans to argue that all mobile or fixed-line customers should have the ability to switch providers in less then 24 hours. At present, that switch is said to take over 48 hours.
