ROAMING RATES HALVED.

• Position: Brief article

Hats off to Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, for whom this was a key issue: SMS and roaming rates have been cut by 50% in the Union since 2007, thanks to EU measures to cap them, reports Tariff Consultancy, a British firm specialised in cell phone tariff research. Voice and text rates have been halved but most rates remain close to the maximum imposed by EU authorities, notes the firm. To end abusive charging practices, the European Commission set a price cap on communications between EU countries, in force since 1 July 2008.

Roaming rates remain "five times the wholesale rate," reports the consultancy. The...