Europe's telecom chief Viviane Reding said Tuesday she will propose new rules in October to stop travelers from being overcharged when they send text messages from their mobile phones abroad.

The European Commission says text messaging abroad costs over 10 times more than it does at home, with up to 97% of the charge pure profit.

"E.U. citizens should be free to text across borders without being ripped off," said E.U. Telecoms Commissioner Reding. Europe's single market without borders should work for consumers just as much as for industry, she said.

The commissioner will propose new E.U.-wide rules in October that will cut the cost by about 70%. She hopes the lower prices will be in place by next summer.

National telecom watchdogs around the 27-nation bloc agree that the cost of sending text messages abroad is too high.

Currently the average cost across the E.U. is EUR0.29, regulators say, with some companies charging EUR0.63 or even EUR0.80 per text. Domestic tariffs are typically between two and five eurocents.

"A price cap between EUR0.11 and EUR0.15 per (roamed) SMS would be appropriate," said Daniel Pataki, chairman of the European Regulators Group.

Commissioner Reding said 11-15 eurocents would be a suitable short-term cap with a longer term goal of around 4 eurocents.

But the move drew sharp criticism from mobile operators. "According to our analysis, the average price of SMS roaming services in the E.U. has declined by 18% in the last year," said Tom Phillips of the global trade group for the mobile industry, GSMA.

The proposal "threatens to choke growth and stifle competition," he said.

Reding said she also wants to put an end to "bill shocks" for customers who use a mobile connection to surf the Internet while abroad.

Prices range from 25 eurocents for each downloaded megabyte to over EUR16 a megabyte and pricing regimes are very different from prices consumers are used to at home.

This can lead to unsuspecting consumers facing bills mounting to thousands of euros when they return home.

The commission will work with the European lawmakers and government ministers to find a swift response to the pitfalls of mobile Internet surfing abroad, Reding said.

The need for E.U. regulation on mobile Internet surfing abroad will be kept under review.

Source:Dow Jones