EC Roaming Report: Rates Down, But Not Quite Enough
Just two days before the roaming rates in the EU were lowered, the EC published an interim report on roaming charges in the European Union. Not surprisingly, retail prices tend to cluster around the regulated maximum price caps.
Although in 5 years the costs of roamed calls for Europeans have decreased by more than 70 percent, users do not enjoy significantly lower rates than those imposed by EU rules.
In 2009 the cap was set at EUR 0.43 per minute (excluding VAT). Consumers who chose the “Eurotariff” paid on average EUR 0.38 per minute for making a phone call to another EU country while abroad. On average they paid EUR 0.17 per minute for calls received, slightly below the legal cap of EUR 0.19.
The commission report therefore concludes that competition on the EU’s roaming market is not yet strong enough to provide better choice and even better rates to consumers.
However, data roaming wholesale prices have fallen well below EUR 1 per MB, the maximum set by the EC. By the end of 2009, operators were charging each other an average of 0.55 per MB.
Average consumer prices have also fallen, from EUR 3.62 per MB to 2.66. The EC expects operators to pass on savings at wholesale level to end users.
Just yesterday, the cap for roamed voice calls was lowered to EUR 0.39 and to 0.15 for calls received. Receiving voice mail messages is now free of charge, but users will continue to be charged for listening to them. The cost for sending a text message while being in another EU member state will remain at EUR 0.11.
Retail level data rates are not regulated at the moment. But the wholesale cap is now set at a maximum of EUR 0.80 per MB and will be lowered to EUR 0.50 by July 2011.
In addition, operators must now provide customers with the opportunity to determine in advance how much they want to spend before the service is “cut-off”. The default limit has been set at EUR 50 though users are able to determine a lower or higher level.
In summer 2011 the commission will review the roaming rules. According to Europe’s Digital Agenda the differences between roaming rates and national rates should approach zero by 2015.
Read the full press release.
Related: New measures to counter data roaming bill shocks from 1 July; lower roaming call price caps
(EC).
See also: E.U. Criticizes Mobile Phone Roaming Charges (NY Times).
