European Union plans to cut the cost of making mobile phone calls abroad could include text messaging and downloading files, a move that is likely to anger mobile phone operators.
The European Commission is set to submit its plans, perhaps as soon as next Wednesday, to the bloc's 25 member states, with the European Parliament having the final say.
"There are a number of people inside the Commission saying that SMS (texting) and data transmission should be added and that is something that is quite likely," an EU source said.
Adding text and data transmission - such as downloading a file onto a portable email receiver like a Blackberry - is seen as helping businesses cut costs, but was not part of the Commission's original intention.
"The cost of downloading a file while roaming is very high, up to 50 times more than downloading a file nationally. This is an extremely high cost for business," the EU source said.
The plans to cut the cost of "roaming" calls is one the EU's most popular policies. But adding text and data transmission would be wrong without consultation or an impact assessment, industry players say.
"If that were added at the 11th hour it would be outrageous," said Tom Phillips, chief government and regulatory affairs officer at the GSM Association, which represents the world's leading mobile phone operators.
EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding has already amended her draft proposal to include a cap on wholesale and retail roaming fees.
"They are in the same way as in the first suggested solution deeply flawed and quite clearly damaging to consumer interests," Phillips said.
"They will cause operators to have to either increase the cost of domestic calls or restrict the ability of some customers to roam. That is just plain economics but the commission has not picked up on this point."
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