Mobile Phone Charges in the EU: Curbing
the Excesses
CHAPTER 1: Background
1. It is estimated that around 140 million EU
citizens are affected by charges for using their mobile phones
abroad, or 'roaming' charges.
2. The Commission first raised the perceived
problem of what it saw as excessive and opaque charges for mobile
roaming in 2003.
3. By July 2006, Viviane Reding, the EU Information
Society Commissioner, had taken the view that the mobile telecoms
industry had failed to address this problem through self-regulation.
Other Commission efforts to deal with the problem through competition
investigations (such as the current investigation into the UK's
market) and by empowering National Regulatory Authorities to take
action, were seen as limited in their effectiveness for what was
inevitably a cross-border issue. In response to these perceived
failures the Commission published a draft Regulation to introduce
caps on charges at both wholesale (the fee one operator charges
another) and retail (the fee charged to the consumer) levels.
4. This draft Regulation prompted a good deal
of controversy among operators across the EU, who claimed that
competition should be allowed to address any problems in charges.
Rob Conway CEO of the GSM Association said that the proposed Regulation
"amounts to a straitjacket that will stifle innovation, dampen
competition and ultimately harm consumers".
5. This report attempts to untangle the many
competing views on the fairness of existing roaming charges; the
adequacy of the market; and likely consequences of any Regulation.
6. The Commission's original proposal has now
been substantially amended, with a number of alternative schemes
under consideration in both the Council of Ministers and the European
Parliament. The German Presidency expects to reach an agreement
before the end of their term in June 2007.
7. Our report will discuss what we have found
to be the key issues and present our conclusions and recommendations
based on the wide range of evidence we received.
8. We make this report to the House for debate.
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