Mobile groups lose EU roaming charge case

Leading mobile phone operators have lost their bid to overturn a European Union cap on the roaming fees they can charge customers when they travel overseas.

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said the EU had the right to impose price caps on roaming charges in the interest of promoting the bloc's internal market. France Telecom's Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica's O2 and Vodafone had challenged the measures before UK courts, who passed on key parts of the case to the ECJ. Their challenge aimed to overturn a price-capping regime that came into force in 2007, in spite of extensive lobbying from telecoms groups. A favorable decision from the court might have reopened the lucrative roaming market, which was worth €8.7bn at the time the regulation came into force, according to Brussels.