Malta has called for roaming charges on mobile telephony within the EU to be equivalent to domestic rates , possibly with a small surcharge to cover the additional costs which operators may incur.

The call was made by Parliamentary Secretary Jose' Herrera during a meeting with the EU Commissioner responsible for telecommunications, Gunther Oettinger.

The commissioner had requested proposals on  Roam-Like-At-Home and net neutrality.

Dr Herrera said Malta felt that people using a mobile phone in other EU countries should be charged the same rate they would be charged at home. However this had to be achieved within a process which ensured that operators did not lose out and were still able to invest. One problem, he said, were the high wholesale roaming rates currently charged between operators.

He said that having cheaper roaming rates benefited consumers, businesses and national economies. 

For the near future, he suggested that roaming rates should be made equivalent to domestic rates along with a small surcharge to cover the additional costs for operators.

On net neutrality, Dr Herrera said Internet access should be free of all commercial barriers.

Dr Herrera was accompanied by his private secretary Charlon Gouder.

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