The cost of sending a text message while travelling in Europe could fall by more than 60 per cent under proposals set to be announced this month by Viviane Reding, the European Telecoms Commissioner.

The long-awaited plans are the latest in a barrage of regulation that threatens mobile operators' revenues. Ms Reding wants to cap roaming fees at €0.11 (9p) a text and reduce the cost of downloading a megabyte of data to €1 (81p), compared with the present average charges of €0.29 and €3 to €4, respectively.

A draft text of the proposals is being circulated among EU commissioners and must be approved by the EU's 27 member countries. Adoption is considered likely because France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has indicated support.

Last year, consumers spent about €800 million sending 2.5 billion text messages while roaming, with a further €560 million spent on data roaming services.

The EU capped charges for voice roaming, which Ms Reding claims has saved consumers an average of 60 per cent. She also wants to cut mobile termination rates - the amount that mobile operators charge one another to connect calls to their networks - by as much as 70 per cent.

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