Est. 2min 08-05-2008 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram EU telecom operators said they will not comply with the Commission’s 1 July deadline to lower the prices of mobile data services across borders, such as text messaging and Internet surfing, labelling the proposed price caps “absurd”. ETNO, the trade association that brings together incumbent EU telecom firms such as Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica, said Commission meddling into data roaming encourages “price fixing” instead of healthy competition in the sector. It is the first time that major telecom operators have declared their opposition to the new pricing measures, after having avoided making any clear statement on the subject for months. A ceiling on text message tariffs is “absurd”, said ETNO Director Michael Bartholomew at a briefing with Brussels journalists on Tuesday (7 May). Alfredo Acebal, director of EU regulatory affairs at Telefonica, asked whether it is the role of the Commission “to put prices on everything”. ETNO’s comments came as the Commission launched a public consultation to review the roaming regulation, which infuriated telecoms groups last year by placing price caps on cross-border mobile phone calls (roaming). The consultation could potentially extend the regulation’s capping system to data roaming. But the industry made it clear that it will refuse to abide by the deadline set by Brussels. The GSM Association (GSMA), which brings together the top mobile telephone operators in Europe and throughout the world, said figures provided by the European Regulators Group (ERG) in January 2008 indicate that data roaming charges fell by 10% across Europe between the second and third quarters of 2007. The Commission intends to go ahead and, by launching a new consultation, put further proposals on the table. These would not only introduce ceilings on data roaming prices, but would also potentially extend the duration of the current regulation on voice roaming, which is due to expire by the end of June 2010. In addition, the Commission intends to further explore possible measures against per-minute tariffs, with Brussels clearly expressing a preference for per-second tariffs that match costumer consumption more closely. Per-minute tariffs are rounded up in the majority of cases (EURACTIV 18/01/08). Read more with Euractiv Call for joint effort to combat online child pornographyThe fight against child abuse over the Internet is often hampered by data protection rules, but a joint effort between privacy authorities, financial institutions and Internet services providers can ensure significant results in line with national laws, according to a new report. PositionsLaunching her ultimatum to telecom operators last February, EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said: "What I am asking for are credible, but also do-able, price reductions for data roaming by the whole industry on a voluntary basis by 1 July. The EU cannot accept that mobile operators make up to 20 times more profits on roaming than on their domestic customers." ETNO Director Michael Bartholomew replied yesterday (7 May): "Capping prices already happened once. I do not see much enthusiasm to back this new proposal in Parliament or elsewhere." In any case, he added, "we vigorously oppose any further action by the Commission to impose prices". Alfredo Acebal, the director of the EU and international regulatory affairs at Telefonica, echoed the ETNO director: "The Commission is not doing a great job. We really should wonder what the role of the Commission is and whether it should really regulate." In a press release, the GSM Association underlined the drop in data roaming prices in 2007 and added: "Overall in Europe, the ratio of SMS roaming rates to SMS domestic rates is comparable to the ratio of regulated voice roaming rates to voice domestic rates. The absolute level of the SMS roaming tariffs is therefore not unusually high when compared to domestic tariffs" stressing the lack of a need for new regulatory measures. BackgroundLast February, Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding sent an ultimatum to EU telecom operators to significantly lower tariffs of data roaming by 1 July, threatening regulative measures in case they refused to comply (EURACTIV 12/02/08). The Commission reckons that a text message sent abroad can cost up to 20 times more than one sent at home. On average, sending a text message costs between €0.05 and €0.10 within an EU member state, but users can be charged over €0.50 if they send a text from another EU country. For downloading data, the costs are at least four to six times higher than the equivalent domestic rates. In June last year, the Commission introduced a regulation that placed a cap on tariffs for cross-border mobile calls in Europe (EURACTIV 29/06/07). Since then, telecoms companies have been obliged to charge a maximum of €0.49 per minute (plus VAT) for calls made abroad and no more than €0.24 cents per minute (plus VAT) for incoming calls. Timeline 1 July 2008: Expiry of the deadline set by the Commission on EU telecom operators to significantly cut data roaming charges. 2 July 2008: Expiry of the consultation on the review of the roaming regulation. Further ReadingEuropean Union EU:Roaming Regulation(27 June 2007) European Commission:Redings' ultimatum to telecom operators to cut data roaming prices(11 February 2008) European Commission:Public consultation with a view to review Roaming Regulation(7 may 2008) [FR] [FR] [DE]
