Brussels, 29/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - According to the European Commission's interim report on roaming published on Tuesday 29 June, EU mobile operators have reduced their roaming charges in line with the maximum price caps established by 2007 EU rules, and amended in July 2009. There is now greater price transparency, the cost of voice roaming having decreased over 70% since 2005 and the price for sending an SMS between member states now costing 60% less. Nonetheless, consumers still do not benefit from tariffs below those imposed by European rules, justifying new price ceilings as communicated by the Commission on Monday (EUROPE 10169). The Commission's report therefore concludes that competition on the EU roaming market is not yet strong enough to provide better choice and even better rates to consumers. “Three years since the rules came in, most operators propose retail prices that hover around the maximum legal caps. More competition on the EU roaming market would provide better choice and even better rates to consumers”, Commissioner Neelie Kroes, responsible for digital strategy, said.
Under the amended roaming rules adopted in June 2009, EU citizens benefit from lower tariffs for voice and SMS roaming services and are better informed about the prices that they pay for data roaming. The cap on the maximum price consumers pay for roamed voice calls fell from €0.46 to €0.43 per minute (excluding VAT) as of 1 July 2009 and will decrease further to €0.39 per minute as of 1 July 2010. The capped price of a text message fell by almost 60% to €0.11 as of 1 July 2009. The prices that operators charge each other for data roaming will drop from €1 to €0.80 per megabyte uploaded or downloaded as of July 2010. Despite this good news for consumers, the report underlines that, despite the establishment of regulatory limits and the fall in prices that ensued, the roaming market in the EU is still not as competitive for offering a good choice and most advantageous tariffs to consumers, as retail prices cluster around the EU regulated maximum price caps. At the end of 2009, the regulatory cap for roamed voice calls was €0.43 per minute, and consumers who chose the “Euro-tariff” paid on average €0.38 per minute for making a roaming phone call. The same consumers also paid on average €0.17 per minute for calls received while roaming, slightly below the legal cap of €0.19. According to the Commission, EU rules give operators plenty of margin to offer more attractive roaming tariffs below the regulatory limits. The difference between roaming and national tariffs should approach zero by 2015, in line with the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe aimed at creating a true single market in telecommunications services, the Commission points out.
For data roaming, the report confirms that wholesale prices have fallen to well below the EU maximum (€1 per megabyte uploaded or downloaded). At the end of 2009, operators were charging each other an average of €0.55 per megabyte. Average consumer prices have also fallen, from €3.62 per megabyte to €2.66 at the end of 2009. Now, the Commission expects operators to pass on savings at wholesale level to consumers as lower retail prices, which it will continue to monitor. The Commission analysis also shows that consumers are making more use of roaming services, since the price fall. Despite an estimated 12% decline in travel, overall volumes of calls received and SMS sent while abroad in the EU have grown over the past two years. In particular, during summer 2009, 20% more text messages were sent than in the previous summer, following the introduction of the EU-wide €0.11 SMS price cap. In 2009, data roaming services grew by more than 40% in volume terms. As smart phones and other hand-held devices become more widespread, this trend is expected to continue.
The Commission will be fully reviewing the 2009 roaming rules by the end of June 2011. It will assess whether the objectives have been achieved and whether the market for roaming services is working as it should - namely as a single digital market. The 2009 roaming regulation is in force until 30 June 2012. (I.L./transl.jl)