EC Wants ”Credible” Roaming Price Cuts by 1 July
Mobile operators must act before July 2008 to avoid the European Commission imposing lower prices for texting or data roaming via mobile devices when abroad. ”Sending text messages or data within the EU should not be substantially more expensive than sending texts or data within the home country,” EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding told her audience at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
”By July 1 there should be credible but do-able price reductions across the industry on a voluntary basis. On July 1, I will take stock. It will be a ’moment de verité’. If the movement on pricing is not enough, the European Commission and Council of Europe will be ready to put forward regulation.”
Several operators recently announced to cut their data roaming rates to stave off the threat of regulation. However, Ms. Reding said it was not enough for a few companies to do this. ”I am not satisfied with a few large operators reducing tariffs among themselves – it should cover the whole industry,” she said.
Source: Financial Times, Reuters
See also: Ms. Reding’s speech
