EU ministers poised to endorse mobile data pricing cap

European Union telecommunications ministers are poised to endorse a proposal limiting prices on cross-border text messaging and mobile web browsing, according to a copy of the plan obtained by the International Herald Tribune. EU ministers reportedly will adopt almost verbatim Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding's plan [1] to cap the retail charge for cross-border texting at €0.11, or 14 cents U.S.--however, the IHT adds the ministers, meeting in Brussels Thursday, will reject Reding's broader call to harmonize telecommunications costs and regulations across the EU's 27 member nations. Reding has sought to create a centralized regulator with the power to intervene in national telecommunications markets.

Assuming the ministers ratify Reding's mobile data cap, the price controls are expected to take effect July 1. Reding's present proposal would slash cross-border text fees by an average of 62 percent from the current €0.29, with a comparable percentage decline expected for data roaming charges. European mobile operators have rallied against Reding's proposal--in mid-July, global trade group the GSM Association countered [2] that the average price of SMS roaming services in the EU has declined by 18 percent in the last year, citing the introduction of flat-fee bundled text pricing. The group also argues many operators are already reducing their SMS roaming charges by cutting standard rates, highlighting pricing moves by Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Telefonica. In addition, the GSMA contends operators are making their data roaming prices more transparent to consumers.

For more on the EU mobile data proposal:
- read this New York Times article [3]