The committee approved the proposal from rapporteur and Finnish MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri to cap wholesale prices at EUR 0.03 per minute and EUR 4 per GB from 15 June 2017, when roaming surcharges are set to end in the EU. This is below the EUR 0.04 per minute and EUR 0.0085 per MB (EUR 8.5 per GB) proposed by the European Commission and the EUR 10 per GB agreed by EU member states' representatives last month. The committee approved the proposed SMS cap at 1 cent per message.
Under the plan adopted by the ITRE, the wholesale date rate would fall gradually to EUR 3 per GB from July 2018, EUR 2 per GB from July 2019 and EUR 1 per GB from 2020. Kumpula-Natri said in her draft proposal that the EC's own research, by Tera Consultants, had calculated the actual cost of providing wholesale roaming data lower, at less than 0.5 cents per MB in all EU member states in 2017. This means the cap can be set lower, while still allow operators to recover their costs. Growing volumes will also help drive down costs. She also supported the glide path approach, rather than a fixed cap until 2022, saying this offers operators more certainty, rather the Commission's proposal to review the rates again in 2019.
The ITRE's proposal must still be approved by the full parliament, and the European Council of telecom ministers will vote on the member states' own proposal on 02 December. The two bodies will then enter negotiations on reaching a compromise.
