.....questa è di ieri
Mobile phone industry, EU fight over roaming plan
Reuters - 10/05/2006 17:39:31
By Huw Jones
BRUSSELS, May 10 (Reuters) - European Commission plans to cut the cost of using mobile phones abroad are fundamentally flawed, top operators said on Wednesday, even though some have cut prices sharply in response to possible legislation.
In March, EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding promised to end in 2007 international roaming charges, or the fee added to calls dialled from abroad.
The news sent shares in top operators like Vodafone lower as Brussels gunned for what it sees as 90 to 100 percent profit margins on roaming, a figure disputed by the industry.
Vodafone this week joined a list of operators cutting tariffs, saying the cost of roaming in Europe would fall 40
percent to less than 0.55 euro (70 cents) per minute from 0.9 euro.
Germany's T-Mobile (DTE.FRA) will also cut roaming charges by about 40 percent across Europe from this summer.
Reding plans to abolish roaming charges on calls received
abroad and ensure that consumers pay no more for calling from another country in the 25-nation European Union than they would for making the same call back home.
Consultations on Reding's plans end on Friday.
"The proposal is not workable in many ways. Reding has jumped the gun," Tom Phillips, chief government and regulatory affairs officer for the industry group GSM Association, told reporters.
"It would have a major disruptive effect on the market and could well cause roaming prices to go the other way, rather than down," Phillips said.
Regulation would kill competition and innovation as there would be no prices to undercut, he said.
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday that tackling roaming charges was a key example of Europe delivering for its citizens.
"We are very confident our proposal is not only on track but will meet strong approval in the European Parliament and Council of Ministers," Reding's spokesman Martin Selmayr said.
"We are confident of coming up with a solid proposal as
planned in July," Selmayr added.
KILL COMPETITION
GSM estimates that mobile operators in the EU have combined revenues of 150 billion euros, with about 10 percent from roaming.
Phillips said Reding had had no formal consultations with GSM, which represents 690 mobile operators from across the world including Vodafone, Orange (FTE.PAR), Telefonica Moviles and T-Mobile in Europe.
This was contrary to the Commission policy of conducting impact assessments before deciding on legislation, he said.
Phillips doubted Reding would be able to get agreement for her plans in the parliament and member states for 2007.
The European Regulators Group (ERG), which represents national telecoms watchdogs in EU member states, also sees Reding's plans as a step too far, Phillips said.
"I think we will see the European regulators support any increase in their ability to study and regulate wholesale prices
but do not support intervention at the retail level," he added.
A spokesman for ERG chairman Kip Meek said the group's preliminary view was to back intervention at the wholesale level where operators charge each other, but hold back for now at the retail level, or the price consumers pay.
In February 2005, the EU's executive arm formally charged Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit and Vodafone with overcharging visitors from abroad when they used mobile phones in Germany. ($1=.7818 euro)
Keywords: TELECOMS EU ROAMING