BRUSSELS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- The European Union said on Thursday that most EU mobile phone operators had complied with a new regulation by offering new roaming tariff at lower costs to customers.

"I welcome in particular that many operators offered the new Eurotariff as the holiday season began, and that some even went substantially below the regulation's price ceilings," said EU Telecom Commissioner Viviane Reding.

Under the EU new roaming fee regulation, which entered into force on June 30, mobile phone operators had until midnight Monday to offer the new roaming rates, so-called Eurotariff, and until end of August must bring them into effect whether customers request them or not.

The European Commission, EU's executive arm, said that many operators offered the Eurotariff already at the start of July while others waited till just before the July 30 deadline. Some operators are also offering prices below the EU cap or new roaming packages.

The EU new roaming fee regulation slashed the roaming costs for EU mobile phone users, under which the cap for outgoing calls made abroad is 49 euro cents per minute before sales tax and 24 cents for receiving calls abroad.

EU mobile phone operators can only compete below the price cap,which means their new roaming charges should be no higher than theceiling.

Thanks to the new regulation, around 50 percent of consumers in Europe are already profiting from substantially reduced tariffs, which will become compulsory for all EU operators at the end of this month, the Commission said.

However, the Commission also named on its official website some companies which did not meet the July 30 deadline to offer customers new roaming tariff, in an apparent effort to shame them.

The Commission warned if those companies still fail to comply, they will face fines from national regulators.