Almost half of Irish mobile customers never check or send emails when travelling in Europe unless they have access to wi-fi, according to a new study.

The European Commission survey indicates that 35 per cent of Irish mobile users switch off the data roaming capabilities on their phones when abroad so as to keep roaming costs to a minimum.

Across the EU, as many as 47 per cent of respondents said they would never use mobile internet while in another EU country and only one in ten would send emails in the same way as they do at home.

The European Commission, which surveyed 28,000 citizens across the EU for its study, estimates that mobile operators are missing out on a market of about 300 million phone users because of the high cost of roaming.

According to the commission there has been a 1500 per cent increase in data roaming use across the EU since 2008. This is in part due to the introduction of price caps in 2008, which has led to a 91 per cent drop in data roaming costs and an 80 per cent price reduction for calls and SMS.

European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes said she was shocked by the survey findings and vowed further steps would be taken to phase out and eventually eliminate the differences in charges paid for domestic, roaming and intra-EU calls.