EU operators slash roaming fees
In a move that could mean big savings, T-Mobile, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telenor, TeliaSonera and Wind said they had agreed to cap the amount they charge each other for providing roaming services at about half the existing level, the mobile arm of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, said in a statement.
The operators pledged to "pass the benefits of these wholesale reductions on to customers through market-driven reductions in retail prices as fully and quickly as possible."
"This would pave the way for a reduction in average retail roaming tariffs in the European Economic Area (EEA) by around 50 percent," said the six, which together have around 200 million mobile phone customers
Roaming services allow customers to make and receive calls while traveling in the EEA, which comprises the 25 members of the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
The move comes as the European Commission, which polices competition in the EU, is preparing new rules for the wholesale and retail sectors aimed at bringing prices down in the telecommunications industry.
According to commission data, the international roaming prices for making a four-minute peak-time call from abroad in Europe in October 2005 were on average between four and six euros (five to 7.70 dollars).
Some calls cost as much as 13 euros, and consumers are also charged a "considerable" amount for receiving a call on their mobile phone while abroad.
The six European operators agreed to cap the average wholesale rates they offer each other for providing roaming services at 0.45 euros per minute as of October 2006 and 0.36 euros per minute from October 2007.
In Stockhom, TeliaSonera said this was half the current wholesale rate.
TeliaSonera said an independent body would be appointed to audit the reductions among the six operators. At six monthly intervals the body would publish an index showing trends in retail prices at an EEA-wide level.
"A main advantage of this scheme, compared to the one proposed by the European Commission, is that it provides scope for competition on prices and services between mobile operators at both the wholesale and the retail level," TeliaSonera said.
The group intends to invite other EU telecom operators to participate in the scheme.
"Orange is pleased to participate in an initiative that so clearly demonstrates the mobile industry’s determination to bring down the price of roaming to the benefit of all customers across the EU," Orange’s chief executive Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement.
In March, after noting there had been "no significant response from mobile operators", the EU commission had laid out plans to adopt new rules by the middle of this year with the aim of bringing roaming rates down by 40 to 60 percent.
In a key proposal for the retail market, the commission said it was considering a "home pricing principle", which would make operators charge the going rate for local calls when someone travelling in the EU made a local call.
The EU’s executive also wants to completely eliminate charges for receiving a call when a person is in another member country.
Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding has said she wants to present a package of measures this month.
"My personal wish would be that already in summer 2007, consumers could go on holiday without having to fear unjustified international roaming charges any longer," she said in late March.
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