The European Union's telecoms chief has threatened to introduce measures slashing the costs of cross-border text-messaging if operators do not lower prices voluntarily by July 1. The Press Association reports.

"EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding insisted the costs of SMS and data roaming were too high and opaque and must come down because consumers are being ripped off.

Costs people pay for making mobile phone calls outside their home countries have dropped by up to 60% since the European Commission capped fees last September.

But the price cap does not cover mobile internet or some 200 billion text messages that are sent a year in western Europe."

Source: http://www.textually.org/