Press & PR

The European commission has set new limits on call charges within the European Union, it has been revealed.

Under the new rules, service providers can now charge a maximum of 34p a minute for those who are making calls, while a maximum of 17p a minute has been placed on those receiving calls.

Currently, the measures do not include text messages or internet services on mobile telephones.

Viviane Reding, the European Telecoms Commissioner, stated that termination charges will still be monitored.

"The commission will, however, continue to monitor prices, in particular for SMS and data roaming, to make sure consumers do not suffer in other ways and to ensure after three years there is no longer a need to regulate," she commented.

Other services are available, such as VoIP calls over a broadband network. Users can make unlimited calls to 15 countries using the VonageV-Plan 2, which costs just £7.99 per month.

TCMnet recently stated that international calls can be expensive when using a fixed-line telephone.