Annex: Draft Text of Roaming Regulation
"Please note this is the draft text voted on
by the EP on 24th May, the bold parts are effectively
their amendments to the existing Commission text.
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic
and Social Committee,
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 251 of the Treaty,
Whereas:
(1) The high level of the prices payable by users
of public mobile telephone networks, such
as students, business travellers and tourists, when using
their mobile telephones when travelling abroad within the Community
is a matter of concern for national regulatory authorities,
as well as for consumers and the European Institutions.
The excessive retail charges are resulting
from high wholesale charges levied by the foreign host network
operator and also, in many cases, from high retail mark-ups charged
by the customer's own network operator. Reductions
in wholesale charges are often not passed on
to the retail customer. Although some operators have recently
introduced tariff schemes that offer customers more favourable
conditions and lower prices, there is still evidence that the
relationship between costs and prices is not such as would prevail
in fully competitive markets. The creation of a European social,
educational and cultural area based on the mobility of individuals
should facilitate communication between people in order to build
a real "Europe for Citizens".
(2) Directive of the European Parliament and
of the Council 2002/21/EC of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory
framework for electronic communications networks and services
(Framework Directive);[9]
Directive 2002/19/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 7 March 2002 on access to, and interconnection of, electronic
communications networks and associated facilities (Access Directive);[10]
Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications
networks and services (Authorisation Directive)[11];
Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating
to electronic communications networks and services (Universal
Service Directive)[12];
and Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal
data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications
sector[13], together
"the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications",
aimed at creating an internal market for electronic communications
within the Community while ensuring a high level of consumer protection
through enhanced competition.
(2a) This Regulation is not an isolated
measure, but complements and supports, insofar as Community-wide
roaming is concerned, the rules provided for by the 2002 regulatory
framework for electronic communications. The framework has not
provided national regulatory authorities with sufficient tools
to take effective and decisive action with regard to the pricing
of roaming services within the Community, and thus fails to ensure
the smooth functioning of the internal market for roaming services.
This Regulation is an appropriate means of correcting this situation.
(3) The 2002 regulatory framework for electronic
communications draws on the principle that ex ante regulatory
obligations should only be imposed where there is not effective
competition, providing[14]
for a process of periodic market analysis and review of obligations
by national regulatory authorities, leading to the imposition
of ex ante obligations on operators designated as having
significant market power. The elements constituting this process
include the definition of relevant markets in accordance with
the Commission's Recommendation of 11 February 2003 on relevant
product and service markets within the electronic communications
sector[15] (the Recommendation),
the analysis of the defined markets in accordance with the Commission's
Guidelines[16], the designation
of operators with significant market power and the imposition
of ex ante obligations on operators so designated.
(4) The Recommendation identifies as a relevant
market susceptible to ex ante regulation the wholesale
national market for Community-wide roaming on public
mobile networks[17].
However, the work undertaken by the national regulatory authorities
(both individually and in the European Regulators Group) in analysing
the wholesale national markets for Community-wide
roaming has demonstrated that it has not yet been possible for
a national regulatory authority to address effectively the high
level of wholesale Community-wide roaming charges
because of the difficulty in identifying undertakings with significant
market power in view of the specific circumstances of international
roaming, including its cross-border nature.
(5) As regards the retail provision of international
roaming services on the other hand, the Recommendation does not
identify any retail market for international roaming as a relevant
market, due (among other things) to the fact that international
roaming services at retail level are not purchased independently
but constitute only one element of a broader retail package purchased
by customers from their home provider.
(6) In addition, the national regulatory authorities
responsible for safeguarding and promoting the interests of mobile
customers normally resident within their territory are not able
to control the behaviour of the operators of the visited network,
situated in other Member States, on whom those customers depend
when using international roaming services. This limitation would
also diminish the effectiveness of measures taken by Member States
based on their residual competence to adopt consumer protection
rules.
(7) Accordingly, there is pressure for Member
States to take measures to address the level of international
roaming charges, but the mechanism for ex ante regulatory
intervention by national regulatory authorities provided by the
2002 regulatory framework for electronic communications has not
proved sufficient to enable those authorities to act decisively
in the consumers' interest in this specific area.
(8) Furthermore, the European Parliament's resolution
of 1 December 2005 on European electronic communications regulation
and markets 2004[18]
called on the Commission to develop new initiatives to reduce
the high costs of cross-border mobile telephone traffic, while
the European Council of 23-24 March 2006 concluded that focused,
effective and integrated information and communication technology
(ICT) policies both at European and national level are essential
to achieving the renewed Lisbon Strategy's[19]
goals of economic growth and productivity and noted in this context
the importance for competitiveness of reducing roaming charges.
(9) The 2002 regulatory framework
for electronic communications, on the basis of considerations
apparent at that time, was aimed at removing all
barriers to trade between Member States in
the area that it harmonised, inter alia, measures
which affect roaming charges. However, this should not
prevent the adaptation of the harmonised rules in step with other
considerations in order to find the most effective means of achieving
a high level of consumer protection whilst improving the conditions
for the functioning of the internal market.
(10) It is therefore necessary to amend the 2002
regulatory framework for electronic communications to allow for
a departure from the rules otherwise applicable, namely that prices
for service offerings should be determined by commercial agreement
in the absence of significant market power, and thereby to accommodate
the introduction of complementary regulatory obligations which
reflect the specific characteristics of Community-wide
roaming services.
(11) The retail and wholesale roaming markets
exhibit unique characteristics which justify exceptional measures
which go beyond the mechanisms otherwise available under the 2002
regulatory framework.
(12) Regulatory obligations should be imposed
at both retail and wholesale level to protect the interests of
roaming customers, since experience has shown that reductions
in wholesale prices for Community-wide roaming services
may not be reflected in lower retail prices for roaming, due to
the absence of incentives to do so. On the other hand, action
to reduce the level of retail prices without addressing the level
of the wholesale costs associated with the provision of these
services could risk disrupting the orderly functioning of the
Community-wide roaming market.
(13) The resulting obligations should take effect
as soon as possible, while providing the operators concerned with
a reasonable period to adapt their prices and service offerings
to ensure compliance, and apply directly in all Member States.
(14) A common mechanism, should
be employed for ensuring that users of terrestrial public
mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community
do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming
voice services when making calls or receiving voice calls, thereby
achieving a high level of consumer protection while safeguarding
competition between mobile operators and preserving both
incentives for innovation and consumer choice. In view
of the cross-border nature of the services concerned, a common
approach is needed so that mobile operators are
faced with a single coherent regulatory framework based on objectively
established criteria.
(15) The most effective and proportionate approach
to regulating the level of prices for making and
receiving intra-Community roaming calls in accordance
with the above considerations is the setting at Community level
of a maximum average per-minute charges
at wholesale level and limiting
charges at retail level, by introducing a Eurotariff.
The wholesale average charge applies between any pair of
operators within the Community over a twelve months period.
(15a) The Eurotariff should be set at
a level which guarantees a sufficient margin to operators and
encourages competitive roaming offers at lower rates. Providers
should actively offer a Eurotariff to all their roaming customers,
free of charge, and in a clear and transparent way.
(16) This regulatory approach should
ensure that retail charges for Community-wide roaming
provide a more reasonable reflection of the underlying costs involved
in the provision of the service than has been the case.
The maximum Eurotariff that may be offered to roaming customers
should therefore reflect a reasonable margin over the wholesale
cost of providing a roaming service, whilst allowing operators
the freedom to compete by differentiating their offerings and
adapting their pricing structures to market conditions and consumer
preference. This regulatory approach should not apply to
value added services.
(17) The regulatory approach should
be simple to implement and monitor in order to minimise the administrative
burden both for the operators which are affected by its requirements
and for the national regulatory authorities charged with its supervision
and enforcement. It should also be transparent and immediately
understandable to all mobile customers within the Community. Furthermore
it should provide certainty and predictability to operators providing
wholesale and retail roaming services. It is therefore appropriate
to specify directly in this Regulation the level in monetary terms
of the maximum per-minute charges at retail and wholesale level.
(19) The maximum average
per-minute charge at wholesale level so specified
should take account of the different elements involved in
the making of a Community-wide roaming call, in particular the
cost of originating and terminating calls in mobile networks and
including overheads, signalling and transit. The
most appropriate benchmark for call origination and for call termination
is the average mobile termination rate for mobile network operators
in the Community, based on information provided by the national
regulatory authorities and published by the Commission. The maximum
average per-minute charges established by this Regulation should
therefore be determined taking account of the average mobile termination
rate, which offers a benchmark for the costs involved. The maximum
average per-minute charge at wholesale level should be reduced
annually to take account of reductions in mobile termination rates
imposed by national regulatory authorities from time to time.
(20) The Eurotariff applicable at
retail level should provide roaming customers with the assurance
that they will not be charged an excessive price when making or
receiving a regulated roaming call, whilst leaving the
home operators sufficient margin to differentiate the products
they offer to customers.
(20a) All consumers should have the option
of choosing a simple roaming tariff which will not exceed capped
regulated rates without additional charges or preconditions. A
reasonable margin between wholesale costs and retail prices ensures
the operators to cover all their specific roaming costs at the
retail level including appropriate shares of marketing costs and
handset subsidisations and leaves them an adequate residual to
yield a reasonable return. A Eurotariff is an appropriate means
to provide both the customer with protection and the operator
with flexibility. In line with the wholesale level the maximum
levels of the Eurotariff shall be decreased annually.
(20b) New roaming customers should be fully
informed of the range of tariffs that exist for roaming within
the Community, including the tariffs which are compliant with
the Eurotariff. Existing roaming customers must be given the opportunity
to make their individual choice for a new tariff compliant with
the Eurotariff or any other roaming tariff within a certain time
frame after the entry into force of this Regulation. For existing
roaming customers who have not made their choice within this time
frame it is appropriate to distinguish between those who had already
opted fo a specific roaming tariff or package before the entry
into force of this Regulation and those who had not selected such
specific roaming tariffs. Customers falling within the latter
category should be placed automatically on a tariff that is compliant
with the requirements of this Regulation. Roaming customers who
already benefit from specific roaming tariffs or packages that
suit their individual requirements and which they have chosen
on that basis should remain on their previously selected tariff
or package if, after having been reminded of their current tariff
conditions, they fail to express their choice within the relevant
time period. Such specific roaming tariffs or packages may include
e.g. roaming flat-rates, non-public tariffs, tariffs with additional
fixed roaming charges, tariffs with per-minute charges lower than
the Eurotariff or set-up charges.
(21) Providers of Community-wide
roaming services for calls made and received while
roaming abroad as covered by this Regulation should have a period
within which to adjust their retail prices to comply
with the limits laid down in this
Regulation. (21a) Similarly, providers
of wholesale Community-wide roaming services should have an adaptation
period of two months to comply with the limits laid down in this
Regulation.
(21b) Since this Regulation provides that
the directives making up the 2002 regulatory framework for electronic
communications are to be without prejudice to any specific measure
adopted for the regulation of Community-wide roaming charges for
mobile voice telephony calls, and since providers of Community-wide
roaming services may be required by this Regulation to make changes
to their retail roaming tariffs in order to comply with its requirements,
such changes should not trigger any right under national laws
transposing the 2002 regulatory framework for mobile customers
to withdraw from their contracts.
(23) This Regulation should not
prejudice innovative offers to consumers which are
more advantageous than the maximum Eurotariff
as defined in this Regulation, but
should in fact encourage innovative offers to roaming customers
at lower rates. This Regulation does not require roaming charges
to be reintroduced in cases where they have been abolished altogether,
nor does it require existing roaming charges to be increased to
the level of the limits set out in this Regulation.
(23a) Home providers may offer a fair-use,
all-inclusive, monthly flat-rate to which no charge limits apply.
This flat-rate could cover Community-wide roaming voice and/or
data communication services (including SMS and MMS) within the
Community.
(24) The pricing requirements in this Regulation
should apply regardless of whether roaming customers have a pre-paid
or a post-paid contract with their home provider, and irrespective
of whether the home provider has its own network, is a mobile
virtual network operator or a reseller of mobile voice telephony
services, to ensure that all users of mobile voice telephony
may benefit from its provisions.
(24a) Where Community providers of mobile
telephony services find the benefits of interoperability and end-to-end
connectivity for their customers jeopardised by the termination,
or threat of termination, of their roaming arrangements with mobile
network operators in other Member States, or are unable to provide
their customers with service in another Member State as a result
of a lack of agreement with at least one wholesale network provider,
national regulatory authorities should make use, where necessary,
of the powers under Article 5 of Directive 2002/19/EC (Access
Directive) to ensure adequate access and interconnection in order
to guarantee such end-to-end connectivity and the interoperability
of services, taking into account the objectives in Article 8 of
Directive 2002/21/EC (Framework Directive), in particular the
creation of a fully functioning single market for electronic communications
services.
(26) In order to improve the transparency
of retail prices for making and receiving regulated roaming
calls within the Community and to help roaming customers make
decisions on the use of their mobile telephones while abroad,
providers of mobile telephony services should enable their roaming
customers to easily obtain information
free of charge on the roaming charges applicable
to them when making or receiving voice calls in
a visited Member State. Moreover,
providers should give their customers, on request and free of
charge, additional information on the per-minute or per-unit data
charges (including VAT) for the making or receiving of voice calls
and also for the sending and receiving of SMS, MMS and other data
communication services in the visited Member State.
(26a) Transparency also requires that
providers furnish information on roaming charges in particular
on the Eurotariff and the all-inclusive flat-rate, should they
offer one, when subscriptions are taken out and each time there
is a change in roaming charges. Home providers should provide
information on roaming charges by appropriate means such as invoices,
internet, TV advertisements or direct mail. Home providers should
ensure that all their roaming customers are aware of the availability
of regulated tariffs and should send a clear and unbiased communication
to these customers describing the conditions of the Eurotariff
and the right to switch to and from it.
(27) The national regulatory authorities which
are responsible for carrying out tasks under the 2002 regulatory
framework for electronic communications should have the powers
needed to supervise and enforce the obligations in this Regulation
within their territory. They should also monitor developments
in the pricing of voice and data services for mobile customers
when roaming within the Community including, where appropriate,
the specific costs related to roaming calls made and received
in the outermost regions of the Community and the necessity to
ensure that these costs can be adequately recovered on the wholesale
market, and that traffic steering techniques are not used
to limit choice to the detriment of customers. They should
ensure that up-to-date information on the application of this
Regulation is made available to interested parties and publish
the results of such monitoring every six months. Information should
be provided on corporate, post-paid and pre-paid customers separately.
(27a) In-country roaming in the outermost
regions of the Community where mobile telephony licences are distinct
from those issued in respect of the rest of the national territory
could benefit from rate reductions equivalent to those practised
on the Community roaming market. The implementation of this Regulation
will not give rise to a less favourable pricing treatment for
customers using in-country roaming services as opposed to customers
using Community-wide roaming services. To this end, the national
authorities may take additional measures consistent with Community
law.
(27b) In view of the fact that, in addition
to voice telephony, new mobile data communication services are
gaining ever more ground, this Regulation should make it possible
to monitor market developments in these services too. The Commission,
therefore, should also monitor the market for roaming data communication
services, including the Short Message Service (SMS) and the Multimedia
Messaging Service (MMS).
(28) Member States should provide for a system
of sanctions to be applied in the event of breach of the provisions
of this Regulation.
(30) Since the objectives of the
proposed action, to establish a common mechanism to ensure that
users of public mobile telephone networks when travelling within
the Community do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide
roaming services when making or receiving voice calls, thereby
achieving a high level of consumer protection while safeguarding
competition between mobile operators, cannot be achieved by the
Member States in a secure, harmonised and timely manner and
can therefore be better achieved at Community level, the Community
may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity
as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the
principle of proportionality, as set out in the same Article,
this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order
to achieve those objectives.
(31a) The common mechanism should be established
for a period of three years. This Regulation may, in the light
of a review to be carried out by the Commission, be extended or
amended by a legal act adopted by the European Parliament and
the Council on the basis of a proposal of the Commission. The
Commission should review the effectiveness of the Regulation and
the contribution which it makes to the implementation of the regulatory
framework and the smooth functioning of the internal market and
also examine the impact of the Regulation on the smaller mobile
telephony providers in the Community and their position in the
Community-wide roaming market,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Subject matter and Scope
1. This Regulation introduces a common approach
to ensuring that users of public mobile telephone networks
when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices
for Community-wide roaming services when making
calls and receiving calls, thereby contributing to the smooth
functioning of the internal market while achieving a high
level of consumer protection, safeguarding competition
between mobile operators and preserving both incentives
for innovation and consumer choice. It lays down rules
on the charges that may be levied by mobile operators for the
provision of international roaming services for voice calls originating
and terminating within the Community and applies both to charges
levied between network operators at wholesale level and to charges
levied by home providers at retail
level.
1a. This Regulation also lays down rules aimed
at increasing price transparency and improving the provision of
information on charges to users of Community-wide roaming services.
2. This Regulation constitutes a specific measure
within the meaning of Article 1(5) of Directive 2002/21/EC as
amended by this Regulation.
2a. The charge limits set out in this
Regulation are expressed in Euro. Where charges governed by Articles
3 and 4 are denominated in other currencies, the initial limits
pursuant to those Articles shall be determined in those currencies
by applying the reference exchange rates prevailing on the date
of the entry into force of this Regulation, as published by the
European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European
Union. For the purposes of the subsequent reductions in those
limits provided for in Articles 3(1) and 4(2) the revised values
shall be converted by applying the reference exchange rates so
published one month preceding the date of entry into effect of
the revised values.
Article 2
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions
set out in Article 2 of Directive 2002/21/EC, Article 2 of Directive
2002/19/EC and Article 2 of Directive 2002/22/EC shall apply.
2. In addition to the definitions referred to
in paragraph 1, the following definitions shall apply:
(-a) "Eurotariff" means any
tariff not exceeding the maximum charge, provided for in Article
4, which a home provider may levy for the provision of regulated
roaming calls in compliance with that Article;
(a) "home provider" means an
undertaking that provides a roaming customer with
terrestrial public mobile telephony services either via
its own network or as a mobile virtual network operator or reseller;
(b) "home network" means a
terrestrial public mobile network located within a Member State
and used by the home provider for the provision of terrestrial
public mobile telephony services to the roaming customer;
(c) "Community-wide roaming"
means the use of a mobile telephone or other device by a roaming
customer to make or receive intra-Community calls
while in a Member State other
than that in which his home network
is located, by means of arrangements between the operator of the
home network and the operator of the visited network;
(d) "regulated roaming call" means
a mobile voice telephony call made by a roaming customer, originating
on a visited network and terminating on a public telephone network
within the Community or received by a roaming customer,
originating on a public telephone network within the Community
and terminating on a visited network;
(e) "roaming customer" means a customer
of a provider of terrestrial public mobile telephony services,
by means of a terrestrial public mobile network situated in the
Community, whose contract or arrangement with their home
provider permits the use of a mobile telephone or other
device to make or to receive calls on a visited network by means
of arrangements between the operator of the home network and the
operator of the visited network;
(f) "visited network" means a terrestrial
public mobile telephony network situated in a Member State other
than that of the home network and permitting a roaming customer
to make or receive calls by reason of arrangements with the operator
of the home network.
Article 3
Wholesale charges for the making of regulated
roaming calls
1. The average
wholesale charge that the operator of a visited network may levy
from the operator of a roaming customer's
home network for the provision of a regulated roaming call originating
on that visited network, inclusive inter
alia of origination, transit and termination costs,
shall not exceed EUR 0.30 per minute.
2. The average wholesale charge shall apply
between any pair of operators and shall be calculated over a twelve
month period or any such shorter period as may remain before the
expiry of this Regulation. The maximum average charge shall decrease
to EUR 0.28 and EUR 0.26 after 12 and 24 months respectively.
3. The average wholesale charge referred
to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated by dividing the total wholesale
roaming revenue received by the total number of wholesale roaming
minutes sold for the provision of wholesale roaming calls within
the Community by the relevant operator over the relevant period.
The operator of the visited network is permitted to make a distinction
between peak and off-peak charges.
Article 4
Retail charges for regulated
roaming calls
1. Home providers shall make available
and actively offer to all their roaming customers, clearly and
transparently, a Eurotariff as provided for in paragraph 2. The
Eurotariff shall not entail any associated subscription or other
fixed or recurring charges and may be combined with any retail
tariff.
When making this offer they shall remind any
of their roaming customers who, before the entry into force of
this Regulation, had chosen a specific roaming tariff or package
of the conditions applicable to that tariff or package.
2. The retail
charge (excluding VAT) of a Eurotariff which
a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for
the provision of a regulated roaming call may vary for any
roaming call but shall not exceed EUR 0.49 per minute
for any call made or EUR 0.24 per minute for any call received.
The price ceiling for calls made shall automatically be reduced
to EUR 0.46 and EUR 0.43, and for calls received to EUR 0.22 and
EUR 0.19 12 and 24 months respectively after the date falling
two months from the entry into force of this Regulation.
3. All roaming customers shall be offered
a tariff as set out in paragraph 2.
All existing roaming customers must be given
the opportunity, within one month following the entry into force
of this Regulation, to opt deliberately for this tariff or any
other roaming tariff, and must make their choice known to their
home provider within a period of two months. The requested tariff
must be activated no later than one month after receipt by the
home provider of the customer's request.
Roaming customers who within that period of
two months have not made their choice shall automatically be provided
with a Eurotariff as set out in paragraph 2.
However, roaming customers who, before the
entry into force of this Regulation, had already made a deliberate
choice of a specific roaming tariff or package, other than the
roaming tariff on which they would be placed in the absence of
such choice, and who fail to express a choice pursuant to this
paragraph shall remain on their previously chosen tariff or package.
4. All roaming customers may request, at
any point after the process set out in paragraph 3 has expired,
to switch to or from a Eurotariff within one working day of the
receipt of the request. Any switch must be made free of charge
and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to
other elements of the subscription. The home provider may delay
the switch until the previous roaming tariff has been effective
for a minimum specified period. That minimum period may not exceed
three months.
Article 5
Timing of application of Articles 3
and 7
1. The obligations
in Article 3 shall take effect two months
after the entry into force of this Regulation.
2. The obligations in Article 7(1) and
(2) shall take effect three months after the entry into force
of this Regulation.
Article 7
Transparency of retail charges
1. To alert a roaming customer to the fact
that he will be subject to roaming charges when making or receiving
a call, except when the customer has notified his home
provider that he does not require this service, each home
provider shall provide the customer, automatically, without
undue delay and free of charge, when he enters another Member
State, with personalised basic pricing information
on the roaming charges (including VAT)
that apply to the making and receipt of calls by that customer
in the visited Member State by means of a Message Service.
The personalised basic information referred
to in this paragraph shall include the maximum prices the customer
may be subject to under his tariff scheme for making calls within
the visited country and back home, as well as for calls received.
It shall also include the free of charge number referred to in
paragraph 2 for more detailed information.
A customer who has given notice that he does
not require the automatic Message Service shall have the right
at any time and free of charge to require the home provider to
provide the service again.
Home providers shall offer blind or partially-sighted
customers the information described in this paragraph automatically,
by voice call, free of charge, if they so request.
2. Additional to paragraph 1, the
customer shall have the right to request
and receive, free of charge, more detailed personalised
pricing information on the applicable roaming charges of voice
calls, SMS, MMS and other data communication services, by means
of a mobile voice call or by SMS. Such request shall be to a free
of charge number designated for this purpose by the home provider.
3. Home providers shall provide all users
with full information on applicable roaming charges, in particular
on the Eurotariff, when subscriptions are taken out. They shall
also provide updates on applicable roaming charges to their roaming
customers without undue delay each time there is a change in these
charges. Home providers shall take the necessary steps to secure
awareness by all their roaming customers of the availability of
the Eurotariff.
They shall in particular communicate to
all roaming customers within one month of the entry into force
of this Regulation the conditions relating to the Eurotariff in
a clear and unbiased manner. They shall send a reminder at reasonable
intervals thereafter to all customers who have opted for another
tariff.
Article 8
Supervision and enforcement
1. National regulatory authorities
shall monitor and supervise compliance with this Regulation within
their territory.
1a. National regulatory authorities shall
make up-to-date information on the application of this Regulation,
in particular Articles 3 and 4, publicly available in a manner
that enables interested parties to have easy access to
it.
1b. National
regulatory authorities shall in preparation for the review provided
for in Article 12, monitor developments in wholesale and retail
charges for the provision to roaming customers of voice and data
communications services, including the Short Message Service (SMS)
and the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), including in the outermost
regions covered by Article 299(2) of the Treaty establishing the
European Community. National regulatory authorities shall also
be alert to the particular case of involuntary roaming in cross-border
regions of neighbouring Member States and monitor whether traffic
steering techniques are used to the disadvantage of customers.
They shall communicate the results of such monitoring to the Commission,
including separate information on corporate, post-paid and pre-paid
customers, every six months.
2. National regulatory authorities shall have
the power to require undertakings subject to obligations under
this Regulation to supply all information relevant for the implementation
and enforcement of this Regulation. These undertakings shall provide
such information promptly on request and to the timescales and
level of detail required by the national regulatory authority.
3. National regulatory authorities may intervene
on their own initiative in order to ensure compliance with this
Regulation. In particular, they shall, where necessary,
make use of the powers under Article 5 of Directive 2002/19/EC
(Access Directive) to ensure adequate access and interconnection
in order to guarantee the end-to-end connectivity and interoperability
of roaming services.
4. Where a national regulatory authority finds
that a breach of the obligations set out in this Regulation has
occurred, it shall have the power to require the immediate cessation
of such a breach.
Article 8a
Dispute resolution
1. In the event of a dispute in connection
with the obligations laid down in this Regulation between undertakings
providing electronic communications networks or services in a
Member State, the dispute resolution procedures laid down in Articles
20 and 21 of Directive 2002/21/EC shall apply.
2. In the event of an unresolved dispute
involving a consumer or end-user and concerning an issue falling
within the scope of this Regulation, the Member States shall ensure
that the out-of-court dispute resolution procedures laid down
in Article 34 of Directive 2002/22/EC are available.
Article 9
Penalties
Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties
applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation
and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are
implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate
and dissuasive. Member States shall
notify those provisions to the Commission not later than nine
months following the entry into force of this Regulation
and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment
affecting them.
Article 11
Amendment to Directive 2002/21/EC
In Article 1 of Directive 2002/21/EC the following
paragraph 5 is added:
"5. This Directive and the Specific Directives
are without prejudice to any specific measure adopted for the
regulation of international roaming on public mobile networks
within the Community."
Article 12
Review procedure
1. The
Commission shall review the functioning of this Regulation and
report to the European Parliament and the Council no later than
eighteen months after the date of its entry into
force. The Commission shall evaluate in particular, whether
the objectives of this Regulation have been achieved. In its report
the Commission shall review developments
in wholesale and retail charges for the provision to roaming
customers of voice and data communication services, including
SMS and MMS, and shall, if appropriate, include recommendations
regarding the need to regulate these services. For this purpose
the Commission may use the information supplied pursuant to Article
8(3).
2. In its
report, the Commission shall assess whether, in the light
of developments in the market and with regard to both competition
and consumer protection, there is need to extend the duration
of this Regulation beyond the period set out in paragraph 3 or
to amend it, taking into account the developments in charges for
mobile voice and data communication services at national level
and the effects of this Regulation on the competitive situation
of smaller, independent or newly started operators. If the Commission
finds that there is such a need, it shall submit a proposal to
the Parliament and the Council.
3. This Regulation shall expire three years
after its entry into force.
Article 14
Notification requirements
Member States shall notify to the Commission within
two months of the entry into force of this Regulation the identity
of the national regulatory authorities responsible for carrying
out tasks under this Regulation.
Article 16
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety
and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
For the European Parliament For the Council
The President The President"
9 OJ L 108 of 24.4.2002, p 33. Back
10
OJ L 108 of 24.4.2002, p. 7. Back
11
OJ L 108 of 24.4.2002, p. 21. Back
12
OJ L 108 of 24.4.2002, p. 51. Back
13
OJ L 201 of 31.7.2002, p. 37. Back
14
See in particular Articles 14 to 16 of the Framework Directive,
Articles 7 and 8 of the Access Directive and Articles 16 and 17
of the Universal Service Directive. Back
15
Commission Recommendation of 11 February 2003 on relevant product
and service markets within the electronic communications sector
susceptible to ex ante regulation in accordance with Directive
2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on a
common regulatory framework for electronic communication networks
and services - C(2003) 497 (OJ L 114, 8.5.2003, p. 45). Back
16
Commission guidelines on market analysis and the assessment of
significant market power under the Community regulatory framework
for electronic communications networks and services (OJ C 165,
11.7.2002, p. 6). Back
17
Market 17 in the Annex. Back
18
EP Resolution 2005/2052(INI). Back
19
Communication to the Spring European Council, Working together
for growth and jobs, A new start for the Lisbon Strategy - COM(2005)
24, 2.2.2005 - and European Council Presidency Conclusions 22-23
March 2005. Back
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