Brussels, 23/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - Following the Commission's publication of its "name and shame" roaming benchmarking website on 2 August, all mobile operators have since informed the Commission of the Eurotariffs they are offering their customers as required by the EU's new Roaming Regulation. All these Eurotariffs are now listed on the Commission's website. In a press release on 23 August the Commission said that, “for mobile customers roaming in Europe, the first result is quite positive: in 23 of the 27 EU Member States, there is at least one mobile operator offering roaming tariffs below the regulation's ceilings”.
Launched on 2 August, the Commission's internet site lists the Eurotariff on offer per operator in all 27 EU Member States. The table is based on responses to a questionnaire sent in mid-July to 95 mobile operators in the EU. Initially the Commission received 74 responses. Some operators only later informed the Commission about their offers or corrected the information they had sent. Today, with the last two operators - Estonia's EMT and Cyprus' Areeba - having communicated their offer to the Commission, the EU-wide overview is now complete. Overall, the introduction of the new EU Roaming Regulation appears to be proceeding smoothly. In 23 of the EU Member States, there is at least one operator offering roaming tariffs below the new regulation's ceilings. Most mobile operators have also offered or activated a Eurotariff before the regulation's deadlines. In October, the Commission, together with the European Regulators Group, will make a more detailed and qualitative assessment of the transition to the Eurotariff. The results will be important in view of the evaluation that the Commission must present to the European Parliament and to the EU Council of Ministers by 30 December 2008. (ol)