The outgoing members of the European Parliament delivered an important gift to EU citizens: they voted 534 to 25 to ban all roaming charges in the EU as of December 15, 2015. This is a significant step in the protection of consumers of telecom services and should lead to further reforms in the telecom services field.
Currently, most mobile operators charge roaming fees for using a mobile phone to call, send text or messages or access the internet in another EU country. A recent poll conducted by the European Commission has found that “more than a quarter of Europeans switch off their phones for the duration of an overseas trip to avoid high roaming charges”.
The logic behind this important change is simple. The Commission said “there is no technical justification for telecoms companies to charge extra costs for customers to use their mobile phones abroad”. European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes added: “This is what the EU is about – getting rid of barriers to make life easier and less expensive. We should know what we are buying, we should not be ripped off, and we should have the opportunity to change our minds.”
As was to be expected, a coalition of mobile phone service providers “warned that the legislation is so badly designed that the cost of domestic calls could rise to pay for the abolition of roaming charges”. The networks lobby “is hoping for an amendment before the Bill passes its final hurdle this autumn, when it goes to the Council of EU ministers”.
Some could argue that the politicians in Brussels should not meddle with the dynamics of a free market. But few people believe that the free market left to its own devices will deliver a fair deal to consumers. So political intervention based on sound and fair principles for the protection of small consumers is always a welcome element in tempering the more unpleasant consequences of lightly regulated service industries.
The recent vote of the European Parliament was accompanied by another vote in favour of maintaining ‘net neutrality’, effectively preventing internet service providers from promoting some online services at the expense of others. The EU telecoms regulator BEREC reported “that several ISPs were blocking or slowing down services like Skype” which many consumers find very cost effective as a means of communication.
Once again, the European Parliament defended consumer rights by insisting that ISPs should only be allowed to block or slow down the internet to enforce a court order, preserve network security or prevent temporary network congestion. If such “traffic management measures” are used, they must be “transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate” and “not be maintained longer than necessary”.
Once again, internet providers are not happy with these consumer-friendly measures. In fact, they “have warned that the law could result in lower quality internet for all, preventing them from providing innovative services that require enhanced levels of quality, such as telemedicine or e-education”.
The stand adopted by the European Parliament should not only serve to protect consumers but also to stimulate telecom service providers to come up with new services and solutions that serve the needs of consumers.
More investment in research and development could lead to new telecom services that will help service providers attract new revenue while satisfying consumers’ present or future needs.
While many continue to question the validity of the European Parliament, which has limited executive powers, there are times when their decisions make a difference in people’s lives.