Brussels, 02/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and the GSMA (which represents the interests of mobile operators in Europe) are not entirely satisfied with the position taken by the ITRE committee at the European Parliament on roaming, further to a vote on the report relating to the draft regulation, on 28 February.
Speaking for her organisation, BEUC Director General Monique Goyens said “this vote is another stepping stone towards better protection against excessive roaming charges in the EU. But we haven't crossed the finish-line yet”. A recent study underlines the fact that 72% of consumers make limited use of their phone when travelling abroad due to the fact that charges are three times higher than on their national market, she said. There is no reason for such high charges within a single market, Goyens added. However, “while the EU pushes down roaming call and SMS costs, we should not see a lava lamp effect, where costs are increased elsewhere such as for data or even national costs” in order to compensate for lost revenue on roaming calls and SMS. The fall in data downloading costs in roaming as set out in the draft regulation is “headed in the right direction”, BEUC concludes, and the Parliament now has a “strong mandate to negotiate with the Council”.
The operators or GSMA, on the other hand, “support changes to the EU roaming market that deliver more competition and lower prices for customers” and the “efforts to reinforce transparency mechanisms for EU roamers”. Operators welcome the fact that the report adopted by the ITRE committee provides for intervention limited in time. Nonetheless, “the caps should provide a safety net for consumers without undermining the competitive effect of the structural measures”, which the ITRE committee does not guarantee in its report. “We would urge the Parliament and the Council to redress it by endorsing the Commission's original safeguard caps”, GSMA states. The principle of technological neutrality must prevail in the regulation, and the separation of roaming and national markets must now be envisaged, the same association believes. Finally, operators call for greater flexibility in provisions made in order to have the time necessary for implementing structural measures intended to make the market more competitive. (IL/transl.jl)