The European Union is launching a public consultation on European roaming regulations.

The British government infamously tried to stop the EU (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/25/labour_anti_roaming_cap/) putting a cap on roaming prices which came into force in June last year. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/23/eu_members_approve_cap/) These introduced caps of €0.49 per minute for making calls and €0.24 cents per minute for receiving calls within the EU.

The call is for operators, the public and of course "stakeholders" to let the EC know what they think of current regulations.

It will also look at inadvertent roaming (when you use your phone near a border and get connected to another operator), actual and billed minutes, the impact on smaller operators and whether data roaming and text messages need more regulation.

Current regulations expire on 30 June, 2010.

A spokeswoman for Ofcom said: "We welcome this. We want to see charges for data and texts falling and there are some signs that they are doing so already."

You have until 2 July to get your views across. Go here (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/roaming/roaming_regulation/consultation_may08/index_en.htm) to read the consultation document. ®

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/25/labour_anti_roaming_cap/
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