Cheaper EU mobile calls come into force

From today July 1, it will be 2c per minute cheaper to make a call while abroad in the EU and cost no more than 8c per minute to receive a call.

The EU has said it would like to see differences in the cost of phone use at home and abroad to disappear altogether by 2015.

Commissioners have taken action because network operators were making profits of 200% on calls made in Europe and 400% on calls received.

Action by Brussels against high roaming charges has been one of the most popular consumer-driven moves by the EU.

Since 2007 there had been an average 60% cut in the maximum charge operators could levy on mobile users making or receiving calls while in another EU country.

The additional price drop means mobile roaming charges are about 75% cheaper on average than they were six years ago when the Commission first urged operators to cut their rates voluntarily.

Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner responsible for telecommunications, has said she was considering imposing the continent's first retail price caps on mobile data roaming.

The charges occur when consumers use smartphones or laptops to use the internet and download emails while outside their home network.