Website reveals mobile phone roaming rates

European mobile operators have launched a new web to give travellers an easy way to determine rates for mobile phone calls when they are abroad.

The site, www.roaming.gsmeurope.org reveals the best tariffs when travelling abroad from 75 operators across Europe, including UK operators O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Visitors to the site choose their home country and operator and the country they will be travelling to. The site then shows tariffs for incoming and outgoing calls for both local calls within the foreign country and for calls home. It also reveals the cost of sending text messages.

Developed by mobile industry consortium GSM Europe, the site was welcomed by telecoms regulatory body the European Regulators Group because it benefits consumers.

The European Commission has threatened to slash mobile roaming rates by as much as 60 per cent.

Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for information society and media, has said it's unfair for mobile phone users to pay different rates at home and abroad.

The operators have strongly opposed the EC's proposal and say it could result in higher mobile tariffs overall.