Brussels, 11/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - A spokesperson for Commissioner Monti confirmed that the competent services in the Commission were presently leading, in collaboration with the national authorities of the Member States concerned, surprise inspections at the headquarters of nine European mobile telephone operators, in the United Kingdom and Germany. These initiatives are part of the wider framework of a general investigation lead by the Commission since January 2000 in the sector of international roaming services. These services arise when a users make or receive, on their mobile phone, calls managed by another network (for example when a British Vodafone subscriber receives, in Germany, a call carried by the German network T-Mobile). The Commission feels that the prices practices for this kind of service lack transparency, are ridged and, in certain cases, unjustified compared to the services truly provided. Thus it wants, through surprise inspections, to gather a maximum of data in order to check whether there exists a possible collusion between operators concerning the setting of a minimum retail prices, most specifically in Germany and the United Kingdom. The inspections also as aim to check whether the German operators have illegally set the wholesale price for other operators and if, in this case, these prices are excessive or discriminatory. The investigations presently lead are at a preliminary stage, adds the Commission, and there does not exist, at present, concrete proof confirming or denying these suspicions.