The European Commission has launched a consultation programme to investigate the effect of the mobile roaming regulations that came into force last year.

The EC is seeking feedback on whether the EU Roaming Regulations, which came in to force on 30 June 2007, have achieved their aim of lowering mobile bills for users making calls outside their country of residence. The EC wants input from businesses, consumers and mobile operators.

One of the chief concerns is the issue of inadvertent roaming – where customers close to international borders are connected to 'foreign' networks, even though they have remained inside their own country.

EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding has already warned mobile operators that unless data roaming services follow similar pricing trends to mobile voice calls, then she may have to enact legislation to reduce tariffs.