EU Cell Providers to Cut Roaming Fees

Facing pressure by the European Commission to lower the high roaming fees charged by EU cellular providers when customers travel to other countries, several companies have agreed to halve the prices they charge. The fees will drop to 45 euro cents per minute in October, with another drop to 36 euro cents in October 2007, half the price of what is currently charged.

Germany's T-Mobile, Orange in the UK, Italy's Wind and Telecom Italia, along with Norway's Telenor and Sweden's TeliaSonera are among those wireless carriers that have agreed to cap the wholesale rates. The savings is expected to be passed along to consumers, but the companies did not say by how much. The EU is also considering legislation that would block extra charges for receiving calls in other European countries.