Mobile operators have reached a deadline to reduce the costs of data roaming within member countries of the European Union, reports the BBC. Earlier this year EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding gave operators a deadline of July 1 to lower their consumer prices for sending text messages and using data on phones whilst abroad. The BBC report notes that Reding is not expecting the companies to have agreed to sufficiently lower their roaming charges, a move that could see the introduction of legislation that would force them to change the way they charge customers. According to an interview with Reding published yesterday by Les Echos, the telecoms commissioner plans tomorrow to examine the results of a public consultation into data roaming charges. If necessary, she is expected to present a plan to extend voice roaming price regulation into the SMS and data space around July 18.

At the GSMA Mobile World Congress in February, Reding instructed operators to reduce their SMS roaming tariffs to €0.12 by today, from the then average price of €0.29. Reding has previously stated that she plans to publicly name those operators that have not reduced their prices by today’s deadline. Many operators have already moved to reduce prices; yesterday T-Mobile became the latest operator to announce it will cut roaming charges for phone calls, text messages and mobile Internet use abroad this summer.