European law - Cheaper mobile roaming services
International mobile roaming charges are bound to decrease by 70 per cent by next summer if the plenary session of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers confirm a vote recently taken by a key committee of the European Parliament. The...
International mobile roaming charges are bound to decrease by 70 per cent by next summer if the plenary session of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers confirm a vote recently taken by a key committee of the European Parliament. The European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee (IRE) recently voted in favour of a Commission proposal slashing costs for mobile phone customers using their handsets in other EU countries.
To date, EU citizens pay widely differing and somewhat high prices when availing themselves of mobile roaming services while travelling in another European country. The proposed law sets price ceilings at both wholesale and at retail level in order to ensure that mobile roaming charges are not unjustifiably higher than those incurred by domestic mobile phone use. Below these ceilings, competition should take place for the most attractive roaming packages. However, this proposed law has been embroiled in debate. The main bones of contention revolve around two issues:
• whether all consumers should automatically profit from this new law while having the possibility to opt for a package offered by operators that is even more beneficial or
• whether only consumers who explicitly tell their operator that they want to profit from the lower tariffs under the EU law will be able to profit from this law where the maximum permissible roaming charges at the retail level ought to be set.
The recent vote taken in IRE called for roaming charges to be capped at a maximum of ?0.40 for outgoing calls, and ?0.15 for incoming calls excluding VAT. Furthermore, such cheaper rates ought to apply automatically to all users, the committee confirmed.
The proposed law is also intended to enhance price transparency. It obliges mobile service providers to give personalised information on retail roaming charges to their roaming customers. Moreover, a customer subscribing to an operator will be able to receive detailed information on roaming and operators will have to keep the subscriber informed periodically on roaming charges.
When considering that the average charges paid by around 147 million EU citizens for mobile roaming services are currently five times higher than the actual cost incurred by operators for providing the service, this proposed law will spell great savings for many EU citizens. However, the final view of the European Parliament will only be known once the plenary has voted on the proposed law in May. It will then be the turn of the Council to have its say in June. In fact, though the European Commission is keen to implement this new law by next summer, disagreements within Parliament and among Council members could well mean that the adoption of this law will be extended by anything from a few months to a year.
• Dr Vella Cardona is a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.
To date, EU citizens pay widely differing and somewhat high prices when availing themselves of mobile roaming services while travelling in another European country. The proposed law sets price ceilings at both wholesale and at retail level in order to ensure that mobile roaming charges are not unjustifiably higher than those incurred by domestic mobile phone use. Below these ceilings, competition should take place for the most attractive roaming packages. However, this proposed law has been embroiled in debate. The main bones of contention revolve around two issues:
• whether all consumers should automatically profit from this new law while having the possibility to opt for a package offered by operators that is even more beneficial or
• whether only consumers who explicitly tell their operator that they want to profit from the lower tariffs under the EU law will be able to profit from this law where the maximum permissible roaming charges at the retail level ought to be set.
The recent vote taken in IRE called for roaming charges to be capped at a maximum of ?0.40 for outgoing calls, and ?0.15 for incoming calls excluding VAT. Furthermore, such cheaper rates ought to apply automatically to all users, the committee confirmed.
The proposed law is also intended to enhance price transparency. It obliges mobile service providers to give personalised information on retail roaming charges to their roaming customers. Moreover, a customer subscribing to an operator will be able to receive detailed information on roaming and operators will have to keep the subscriber informed periodically on roaming charges.
When considering that the average charges paid by around 147 million EU citizens for mobile roaming services are currently five times higher than the actual cost incurred by operators for providing the service, this proposed law will spell great savings for many EU citizens. However, the final view of the European Parliament will only be known once the plenary has voted on the proposed law in May. It will then be the turn of the Council to have its say in June. In fact, though the European Commission is keen to implement this new law by next summer, disagreements within Parliament and among Council members could well mean that the adoption of this law will be extended by anything from a few months to a year.
• Dr Vella Cardona is a freelance consultant in EU, intellectual property and competition law. She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.