The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it would
present draft regulation by the middle of the year aimed at cutting
mobile phone roaming charges in Europe by more than half.
European Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding will
submit a proposal in June that would force mobile operators to
charge the same rates for calls made on another country's network
as they do for domestic calls, ending international roaming charges
as they exist today, she said.
The current level of roaming charges imposed by operators is
unjustified, Reding said. "I am not prepared to stand on the
sidelines," she said.
Roaming charges levied by some operators range from b,4 to b,6
(US$4.80 to $7.20) for a four-minute call, she said. In more
extreme examples, Spanish customers can be charged b,8 in roaming
fees for a four-minute call on networks in Cyprus and Latvia, while
some U.K. customers face a b,7 fee for using their phones in
Slovenia, Reding said.
She is also seeking to end the practice of charging users for
receiving calls while on other operators' networks, she said.
Kip Meek, chairman of the European Regulators Group (ERG) and of
U.K. telecommunications regulator Ofcom, said his groups supported
Reding's initiative, saying: "Our commitment to resolve this is
absolute". The cost of roaming is "completely disproportionate" to
the technical issues involved, he said.
He suggested there could be a uniform price cap on wholesale
prices which could cut call charges by up to 60 percent, to around
b,0.30 per minute. Operators should be monitored to ensure they pass
these savings on to consumers, he said. There may also be a need
for legislation to ensure that wholesale price reductions are being
passed on, he said.
The regulations to force operators to cut roaming charges will
have to be approved by a majority of the European Union's (EU's) 25
member states and by members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
Reding said she hoped the measures could be in place by mid-2007.
It would be unusual, however, for the Council of Ministers and MEPs
to agree on complex legislation so quickly.
E.U. leaders gave support to her initiative at their summit
meeting in Brussels last week, she noted. The leaders issued a
communiquC) at the Summit saying that high roaming charges were a
barrier to competitiveness.
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