Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda, announces the EC's new plans to cut the cost of roaming from next year. Mobile phone calls, text messages and data charges will all be given maximum limits - and new 'roaming only' tariffs could also be introduced.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation asking whether there are benefits in a system that would allow businesses to use the same telephone number in all EU Member States.

Neelie Kroes, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, has urged mobile phone operators to raise parents' awareness of the potential risks faced by children who use smartphones, such as access to 'adult' content.

While welcoming the progress made by operators on their work to keep children safe while using mobile phones, she warned that parents were often "not as tuned into the latest developments in mobile phones as the younger generation".

The European Commission has set out a Digital Agenda for Europe that explains how it believes Information and Communication Technologies should be used to deliver sustainable economic and social benefits within Europe.

Launching the Digital Agenda earlier this week, Neelie Kroes - European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda – said "We must put the interests of Europe's citizens and businesses at the forefront of the digital revolution and so maximise the potential of Information and Communications Technologies to advance job creation, sustainability and social inclusion."

The European Commission has implemented new rules for high-speed mobile internet services. EU members that release 800MHz frequencies as part of the 'digital dividend' resulting from the switchover from analogue to digital television broadcasting are now required to make the frequencies available for wireless broadband applications such as LTE or WiMAX.