Brussels, 10/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - The roaming services in Germany of mobile operators T-Mobile and Vodafone are causing the Commission a headache. The Commission has just sent the companies two separate statements of objections because it fears they are abusing their dominant position due to the high tariffs charged to other mobile network operators. Foreign operators must pay a fee to operators of German networks (“interoperability” tariffs) to allow their subscribers to use their mobile telephones when they are in Germany (“roaming” services). However, the fees charged by Vodafone and T-Mobile are particularly high, which directly harms consumers are these charges are passed on in full to them. The Commission points out that it is trying to ensure that European consumers benefit from the advantages of correct coordination of technical standards for roaming services, and does not want these to be cancelled out by excessive charges.
A preliminary investigation carried out by the Commission indicates that since 1997, and at least until the end of 2003, T-Mobile has abused its dominant position on the German market. A similar investigation into Vodafone shows the same abuses for the period from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2003 at the earliest. Documents gathered during investigations into the premises of both operators in July 2001 revealed that the roaming services generated profits several times higher for these products than for comparable services provided by operators of mobile networks. The cost of calls made on roaming vastly exceeded the much more moderate tariffs of T-Mobile and Vodafone for calls made by German subscribers to independent services on their respective networks.
Jonathan Todd, spokesperson to Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for Competition, pointed out that a similar decision had been taken against British operators in July 2004 (see EUROPE of 27 July) and that the Commission was looking into the responses received from the Commission further to the general investigation into “roaming” prices practised throughout the Member States, which showed that these two countries practised the highest prices, the spokesperson said.