T-Mobile recently announced measures to drive down the cost of using a mobile abroad, with international roaming rates within the EU dropping by as much as 80% for Internet access and mobile broadband from July 1st. 

The charge for sending a text within Europe will drop by 38%, and T-Mobile will also make voice calls and messaging more affordable by introducing Euro Holiday Boosters for both PAYG and monthly subscribers.

T-Mobile UK chief executive Jim Hyde said that demand has been growing from people travelling outside the UK to make mobile calls and access the Internet access, and this substantial cut in European roaming charges signals T-Mobile's commitment to make mobile use overseas much more affordable and flexible.

"We've been working hard to drive efficiencies in our business in order to pass these savings on to our customers in a number of ways," said Hyde. "With one in four new contract customers signing on for Mobile Broadband and our user numbers expected to quadruple in 2008, we have taken timely action to remove the single biggest constraint for the growing number of people who rely on mobile Internet access while travelling in Europe."

According to Hyde, the reduction was made possible by the growing maturity of the mobile data market.

"The rapid expansion of high-speed HSDPA networks, the proliferation of 3G-enabled handsets and the increasing use of mobile email and Internet access have caused data traffic volumes to accelerate, to the point where data traffic exceeds voice on T-Mobile's UK network," says Hyde.

He said that this pattern is being repeated across T-Mobile's operations in Europe, giving the group the means to negotiate better international wholesale rates with more than 400 roaming partners worldwide.