Supplementary letter from the Department
of Trade and Industry
I offered to provide a note to the Select Committee,
following the meeting on 26 February 2007, which would confirm
the international mobile phone roaming prices which I quoted in
response to Baroness Eccles' question about the sunset clause,
which has been proposed for inclusion in the International Mobile
Roaming Regulation (Q136).
The prices which I quoted relating to Vodafone
and Orange are as stated in the transcript, however, a little
additional information is necessary to clarify the O2 prices.
Prior to the introduction of the "My Europe"
scheme by O2 in summer 2006, the cost of using a post pay mobile
in an EU member state such as Germany or France was 85p a minute
to call in country or back to the UK, and 94p per minute to receive
a call. If customers opted into O2's International Traveller Service,
the cost fell to 58p a minute to call in country or back to the
UK, and 28p a minute to receive a call.
"My Europe" is aimed primarily at
holiday-makers. It is a free opt-in service for all O2 UK customers,
which offers both outbound and inbound voice calls for 35p per
minute across all EU territories.
"My Europe Extra" is for frequent
traveller business customers and was introduced in February 2007.
O2 UK business customers who opt for "My Europe Extra"
are charged a flat rate of 25p per minute for calls made within
the European Union or back to the UK and do not pay the additional
charge to receive a call (ie 94p per minute).
It is available as a twelve month subscription
option of £5 per month, or on a month by month basis for
£10 per month.
So, it is true that the cost of using an O2
mobile in Europe has decreased significantly since the announcement
of the Roaming Regulation. However, I regret that my assertion
that the cost of the My Europe and My Europe Extra schemes had
fallen was technically incorrect.
21 March 2007
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