FRANKFURT, June 23 (Reuters) - EU Commissioner GuentherOettinger expects roaming charges for mobile phone calls anddata in Europe to be abolished in 2017, Germany's RheinischePost newspaper quoted him as saying.
"From the second quarter of 2017, roaming charges willprobably cease to exist," said the European Commissioner forDigital Economy and Society.
"The EU Commission, the governments of the 28 membercountries and the European Parliament will probably agree onthis very soon."
The European Commission in 2007 began to reduce the maximumcharges that mobile operators can impose on their subscribersfor making calls and using data outside their home countries,which is a lucrative source of income for the carriers.
European Union member states have already pushed the datefor the abolition of roaming charges back to December 2018 fromDecember 2015.
They are now seeking a compromise with lawmakers who wantthem to be abolished by the end of 2016.
(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; editing by Jason Neely)