Vodafone To Lower Roaming Charges By Summer-EU Source

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone Group Plc plans to drastically lower cellular phone roaming charges in the summer, a European Commission official familiar with the situation said.

Vodafone's chief executive Arun Sarin recently visited Brussels to announce plans, the source added.

Pilot projects should be started in a few E.U. countries by the end of March, the source said.

When the new charges are applied, Vodafone clients will pay a flat fee for roaming calls, which would be much lower than the current charge of EUR0.89 per minute within the E.U.

Vodafone spokesman Jens Kuerten declined to comment, only saying that the company will talk about fees when it's ready.

In December the European Commission launched an investigation over roaming charges and found them to be high.

-By Angelelika Steinfort, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 500; europa.de@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 8th February 2005