The European Commission launched a plan today to slash the cost of using mobile phones abroad, targeting what it sees as excessive prices, but operators and regulators said the rules went too far.
"Our analysis shows that very high international mobile roaming charges currently affect at least 147 million European Union citizens," Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
"We have no alternative but to intervene to protect the interest of consumers. This intervention tackles excessive prices ... not justified by the market condition," he told a news conference.
The Commission proposal aimed to cut the cost of using a mobile phone abroad by up to 70 percent, he said.
The European Union's 25 member states and the European Parliament will have the final say on the cap on "roaming" prices, or the extra charge levied by operators for using a mobile phone outside a home country in the bloc.
If they approve the plan, mobile phone companies will have a six-month grace period before a mandatory cap on retail tariffs for calls made abroad. The Commission wants the rules in place by the summer of next year in time for the holiday season, when millions head for the beaches or mountains.
Roaming represents €8.5 billion of business a year.
"We will give operators a final chance to show that they are serious about self-regulation. If they are, the regulation will have no practical effect as such," Mr Barroso said.
"I expect operators to voluntarily lower prices to acceptable levels." The GSM Association representing mobile companies said operators had already cut roaming tariffs sharply this year.