At long last, despite the best efforts of the British Government, it seems that the end is in sight for the exorbitant roaming charges imposed on Europeans who use their mobile phones in Europe, but outside their native region.

EC Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding has pledged to get a bill imposing a cap on roaming charges onto the EC parliament's agenda by October.

In April 2007, a committee of the European parliament voted to support EC plans to cut the cost of mobile phone calls between EU member states by 70 per cent.

Last February, Reding gave mobile operators the opportunity to avoid legislative action by bringing down prices. They declined the offer.

Hence the new moves to pass a law to get the cuts imposed.

The UK has had a particularly nefarious role in this saga, with Reding accusing industry minister Margaret Hodge of being a mouthpiece for the wireless operators.

"The Minister (Hodge) is playing, 100 per cent, the spokesman for the mobile phone industry," said Reding.

In December 2006 Hodge vetoed a measure proposed by Reding aimed at putting a limit to roaming charges. At that time it cost 94p per minute to make an international call, estimated to be 400 per cent more than the cost to the operators.

"The prices were extraordinarily high 10 times, 15 times, 20 times higher than local national prices", said Reding, "but there was no difference in the cost of connecting the calls. I saw also the cost for the operators was roughly 10 cents for a call and what they were charging was 400 per cent more than the cost.

"The British government was very clearly doing a policy in favour of the telephone industry", said Reding.

According to the International Herald Tribune, the EC is proposing to limit retail roaming charges for text messages to 11 to 15 euro cents, or 17 to 23 American cents, a message. Reductions could start in October.

Maybe then the joke credited to the Swedish company Rebtel, that GSM stands for 'Get Screwed Monthly' can be laid to a very overdue rest.

See also: Mannerisms, the blog of David Manners. Updated twice daily, it's the distinctive, entertaining, authoritative and never dull commentary on the semiconductor industry, from someone who knows. Sign up for the Mannerisms eNewsletter.