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[the times] Investors hung up on Vodafone, with the mobile phone operator falling 6.2p to 121¼p after being hit by fears of new regulations, poor results from European peers and a broker downgrade.

Viviane Reding, the EU’s Telecoms Commissioner, has long been a thorn in the side of the Continent’s mobile groups as she strives to cut bills for consumers and she has enhanced her irritant status with the industry again.

Ms Reding wants to cut mobile termination fees, the sum that operators charge rivals to connect calls on their network, by up to 70 per cent in a move intended to reduce customer bills by €2 billion. However, what is good news for callers will hit operators hard.

Prospect of new EU rules sends Vodafone tumbling