Following last year's decision by the European Commission to lower the cost of roaming voice calls, Ofcom are now pushing to reduce the cost of data roaming.
Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom is attending a meeting of European regulators today with the intention of telling them that data and text roaming costs need to come down across Europe.
The average price of 1MB of mobile data - roughly enough to view up to 200 mobile web pages - is about £1.50. Yet the average price charged by British operators for using data roaming services within Europe last summer was £4.11 per MB, higher than the European average of €5.24 (£3.90).
"However you look at this, it is extremely expensive. It could cost tens of pounds to download a single PowerPoint presentation," Richards said ahead of today's meeting of the European Regulators Group.
"These prices represent a significant price hurdle to the use of mobile internet while abroad. My biggest concern is the effect on businesses which increasingly depend on mobile connectivity."
Richards also called on the operators to cut what he regarded as expensive roaming charges for sending text messages inside the EU.
He said: ‘The cost of sending a text from abroad looks high: an average charge of 21p per roaming text sent from Europe compared to an average of 5.6p per text sent within the UK, but with very low associated marginal cost.’
Richards believes the European Commission's target of 2010 to resolve the issue is too long.
‘As a result, we will be looking to see whether we have any scope under our national powers to take action well before that,’
The average price of 1MB of mobile data - roughly enough to view up to 200 mobile web pages - is about £1.50. Yet the average price charged by British operators for using data roaming services within Europe last summer was £4.11 per MB, higher than the European average of €5.24 (£3.90).
"However you look at this, it is extremely expensive. It could cost tens of pounds to download a single PowerPoint presentation," Richards said ahead of today's meeting of the European Regulators Group.
"These prices represent a significant price hurdle to the use of mobile internet while abroad. My biggest concern is the effect on businesses which increasingly depend on mobile connectivity."
Richards also called on the operators to cut what he regarded as expensive roaming charges for sending text messages inside the EU.
He said: ‘The cost of sending a text from abroad looks high: an average charge of 21p per roaming text sent from Europe compared to an average of 5.6p per text sent within the UK, but with very low associated marginal cost.’
Richards believes the European Commission's target of 2010 to resolve the issue is too long.
‘As a result, we will be looking to see whether we have any scope under our national powers to take action well before that,’