Berec advises against ending roaming charges in near term

News Wireless Europe 18 DEC 2014
Berec advises against ending roaming charges in near term
Berec, the body of EU telecom regulators, has given its advice on the proposed changes to roaming regulation, saying it's not feasible at this time to eliminate roaming surcharges. The European Parliament passed legislation in April calling for an end to roaming fees by the end of 2015. The European Commission subsequently asked Berec for advice, to facilitate discussions between Parliament and the EU Council on a final version of the legislation. 

Several EU governments, notably those in the south where operators have a higher proportion of roaming income, have questioned whether the charges can be eliminated so soon. According to Berec, there is too wide a difference in wholesale and retail prices, particularly for mobile data, to make it "sustainable or feasible" to end roaming surcharges in the next year. 

The regulator looked particularly at the impact of allowing mobile users to 'roam like home', ie pay the same as they do in their home country when roaming in other EU states, and whether amendments such as a fair-use policy for roaming or adjustments to regulated wholesale prices could mitigate the impact on the market. However, it found that in all scenarios there would always be a trade-off between the policy objectives of ensuring competition, encouraging roaming, maintaining investment and protecting consumers.   

If governments aim to end retail roaming charges in the longer term, Berec said particular attention will need to be paid to wholesale rates. In some countries, the EU's wholesale price caps on data roaming are higher than actual retail prices, and average wholesale charges remain higher than domestic retail prices in many markets. The existing roaming regulation requires the European Commission to review its impact by mid-2016, and Berec said the review will need to consider the impact on national markets of ending roaming charges and that operators in both home and visited markets can recover their costs. 

Even if wholesale rates can be adjusted appropriately to support an end to roaming charges, Berec said it still expects some form of 'fair use' will be needed, given the differences in travel patterns and mobile consumption across EU states. A fair use policy was proposed by the Italian presidency of the EU at the recent meeting of telecom ministers to consider the roaming legislation. However, there is disagreement among EU states over what the amount of fair use should be. At the same time, some states would like to see the issue of wholesale rates agreed first. 

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

European Commission,  Berec

Regions:

Europe

Tags:

Voice services, Data services, Messaging, Regulations, Wholesale, Pricing, Government policy, Legislation - Lawsuits

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