Brussels, 02/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - Almost all mobile telephone operators have complied, within the timescale, with the Commission's wishes on roaming (see EUROPE 9231), but the broad majority are contenting themselves with applying the Eurotariff, it is revealed in a comparative table published on Thursday 2 August. One month after the European regulation to reduce mobile roaming charges by up to 70% came into effect, the Commission has taken stock on operators' real commitments by publishing the results of a survey conducted on 95 of them. Operators were required to offer a Eurotariff to their customers by 30 July. Once the offer is accepted, the operator has one month maximum to apply the rate. The consumer will automatically benefit from the Eurotariff from 30 September, even if he/she does not ask for it. In general terms, the results are broadly positive. The Commission notes that some operators had offered and applied the Eurotariff from 1 July, or the first few days of the month, thereby allowing customers to enjoy lower rates earlier. It welcomes in particular the attitude of Polish operator P4, which offered a new charge system one week before the regulation came in to force. Elsewhere, some operators are beginning to distinguish themselves by offering rates lower than the ceilings set by the Commission (49 cents per call sent from abroad and 24 cents per call received from abroad), although the majority are sticking rigidly to the Eurotariff. The best rate is currently being offered by the British operator 3 (31.57 and 12.63 cents). The Commission criticises the lack of response to its questionnaire from around 20 operators, however. In Latvia, for example, none of the three operators responded. In Estonia, only one out of three responded (Tele2) and, in Finland, it was only two out of four (DNA OY and Sonera). Additionally, some operators were not complying strictly with the rules. Cytamobile (Cyprus) will only offer the Eurotariff from 30 August. In Belgium, Mobistar has not informed customers that they can benefit from the Eurotariff from 30 August. It is only by consulting the company website that Mobistar customers can find out. The Commission notes that in the event of any infringement, the regulation allows national regulatory authorities to impose sanctions, including fines. The Commission will carry out a more detailed analysis in October, in cooperation with the European Regulators Group. The results will be included in the evaluation of the regulation that the Commission has to present to the European Parliament and the European Council within 18 months of the regulation's coming into effect. This evaluation will be the basis for deciding whether the new rules are sufficient or whether further intervention is necessary to include SMS, MMS and data roaming, which are not currently covered. Info: http: //ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/roaming/implementation/benchmark/index_en.htm (il)