Brussels, 23/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is continuing to put pressure on operators to make the roaming market more competitive. After adopting a first regulation on voice roaming in 2007, it is proposing, in a document adopted unanimously on 23 September, further rules to bring down SMS prices and to make downloading data more transparent. The proposal also provides for the abolition of billing by the minute for voice roaming, something that was not included in the previous regulation. “I regret to have to present to you new EU roaming rules today. … in a functioning telecoms market, EU intervention should be neither necessary nor desirable,” said Information Society and Consumer Protection Commissioner Viviane Reding, referring to roaming as an “excellent example” of a market that is not functioning properly, ahead of the single telecommunications market. “Competition is not yet effective in the roaming market, and certainly not sustainable. If Europe is to deliver concrete results to its 500 million consumers, then practices whereby operators charge for a service which they do not deliver should not be acceptable,” stressed Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso is particularly strong in his support of the proposal which will help regulate the market for the benefit of all. “If we get this done quickly (Ed: set up a single telecommunications market), we will see tremendous growth in SMS and data services and send a message that lower roaming charges can be a win-win situation for all,” he said. In concrete terms, the consumer can expect further proposals from the Commission: 1) a reduction of up to 60% for roaming text messages from 1 July 2009; 2) more competitive and more transparent charging on data roaming; 3) a 20% reduction on voice calls sent or received from abroad from next year; and 4) from 2012, a further 30% reduction for calls sent or received from abroad.
In its proposal, the Commission plans to cap retail prices (ex-VAT) for SMS at 11 cents and wholesale prices (what an operator bills another operator when a customer sends a message from one network to another) at 4 cents, on the basis of an impact assessment carried out with the involvement of the European Regulators Group (ERG). Currently, roaming SMS prices are up to 10 times higher than national prices, something that cannot be justified, the Commission says. A French national in Italy currently pays 30 cents for sending a roaming text message, an Irish citizen 39 cents, and a Czech 42 cents. A Belgian national on holiday can pay up to 75 cents. Not only do these prices bear no relation to the costs borne by the operator, neither can they by justified by additional underlying costs which, according to a study carried out by the Danish regulator, never amount to €1, said Reding.
The proposals also call for transparency on data roaming: when they cross the borders of a country, customers should be informed, by means of an automatic message, of the costs that will apply, thus, from 2010, allowing them to work out the amount they will have to pay. Reding spoke of consumers who were shocked by the prices charged, giving the example of the €40,000 charged for downloading a TV show over a roaming mobile line. The Commission is proposing a safeguard limit of €1 per byte for wholesale fees (currently, charges can be up to €10) and a safety net which should, it says, create a level playing field and stimulate competition.
For roaming phone calls, the Commission wants the price caps (ex-VAT) put in place in 2007 (46 cents for calls made abroad and 22 cents for calls received) to be lowered to 34 cents for calls made abroad and 10 cents for calls received with effect from 1 July 2012. Billing by the second, after 30 seconds, and not by the minute, should be the rule. Billing by the minute adds 24% to average bills for calls made and 19% for calls received, the Commission estimates.
If approved by the Parliament and Council of Ministers, the roaming regulation will expire on 30 June 2013, not in June 2010 as provided for initially in 2007, the Commission believing that the market will still not be sufficiently competitive in two years' time. On Tuesday, Commissioner Reding presented the proposal to the European Parliament industry committee. The Council of Ministers is expected to give its approval in November, as French Secretary of State for Industry and Consumption Luc Chatel promised Reding. The regulation, then, should come into force on 1 July 2009, just at the start of the summer holidays, to the great satisfaction of consumers. (I.L./transl.rt)