Hopes of slashing roaming fees for holiday season fade

HOPES of slashing mobile phone roaming charges before the peak summer holidays have receded as a number of governments oppose the details.

Under the proposals, backed by the Irish Government, roaming charges throughout the EU would be capped from the end of June, resulting in reductions of as much as 70% for consumers.

Under the scheme, a four-minute mobile call from Malta would be cut from €11.96 to €2.

But the hugely profitable mobile phone companies, including Vodafone and Orange, have fought back and threatened to increase the cost of handsets and domestic calls if roaming charges are reduced.

Britain, France, Spain and Germany are openly supporting the industry despite surveys showing that roaming charges are a major bugbear for EU citizens.

The European Parliament was hoping to rush the legislation through next week, after just one reading, to ensure agreement by member state ministers at their June meeting.

But the vote has been postponed until the end of May due to disagreement.

Three of the parliament’s four committees which dealt with the subject, supported a ceiling of 40 cent a minute for outgoing calls, and 15 cent a minute for incoming calls.

They also want the new rates to come into effect immediately.