BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- The European Commission Monday said it would press ahead with plans to regulate mobile phone roaming costs, despite a Vodafone Group offer to slash its fees by up to 40%.
"We welcome every initiative that goes in the direction of cutting roaming charges," said commission spokesman Frederic Vincent. "But this doesn't put into question our plans."
He said the commission would go ahead and propose a regulation on roaming "before summer" that would go into effect next year.
In an effort to head off draconian European Union regulation, Vodafone earlier Monday vowed to slash its roaming charges by 40% by April 2007.
The UK-based mobile phone operator said it would cut the average cost of roaming to less than EUR0.55 per minute from more than EUR0.90. It also said, starting in October 2006, it would pay other European operators wholesale rates of no more than EUR0.45 per minute for calls within Europe.
Comission spokesman Vincent said regulators were still "analyzing" the Vodafone offer. But he noted that Vodafone was only one mobile operator, albeit the largest, and the regulation being proposed would concern all operators.
-By William Echikson,Dow Jones Newswires;32-2-741-1480; william.echikson@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 8th May 2006
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