Text message (SMS) roaming charges are to be limited to 0,11 Euro cents by a proposal from the EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding. Currently the average cost for a text message while roaming is 29 cents.

For the proposal to be approved, all 27 nations of the European Union and the European Parliament must approve it. The cut will bring in less revenue to operators, which generate 97% of revenue through roaming charges, but it will be benefitial to travellers, who estimatedly send 2.5 billion text messages per year.

The Commissioner had also proposed a cut in roamed voiced calls, which according to the European Regulators Group, is 8 cents too high.  Reding also wants operators to charge per second from the 31st second to save travellers' cash.

An additional request was made by the Commissioner to cut roaming data costs to 1 Euro per megabyte, which is 3 to 4 times cheaper than the current rates.

[Picture: Digital Lifestyles]

[via Reuters]