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The European Commission has introduced a proposal to reduce the cost of mobile phone calls by lowering the fees carriers charge for using each others networks.

"Disparate termination rates across the EU and large gaps between fixed and mobile termination rates are serious barriers to achieving a Single European Telecoms market that benefits competition and consumers. The consumer pays the price for these gaps between national regulatory policies," said Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner.

"Call termination markets in the EU need a regulatory plumber. Over the next 3 years, I expect greater consistency and coordination to bring the costs for mobile phone calls down by around 70 per cent from the current level," said Reding.

The EU says termination fees range from 2 euro cents per minute in Cyprus to 18 euro cents in Bulgaria. The amount carriers charge for switching callers between networks are on average, nine times higher than those on traditional landline networks. The commission said these charges were partially the reason mobile calls were more expensive than landline calls in the EU.

Mobile phone carriers argue that standardizing termination fees across the E.U. would lead to customers paying more for mobile service and that the industry already has plans to reduce termination fees.