Reding cedes ground to tackle roaming charges

Proposals on roaming charges unveiled yesterday (12 July) by Viviane Reding, commissioner for the information society, look set to sail through the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers following eleventh hour amendments imposed under internal pressure in the European Commission.

But after months of tough talking mobile operators were given a second chance to lower retail tariffs on mobile calls made abroad. Although wholesale caps would apply immediately after adoption of the regulation, expected next year, operators are to be allowed a six-month period of grace before caps on retail charges kick in. Profit margins allowed on retail calls would be limited to 30%.

Originally Reding wanted to impose a one-size-fits-all regulation for wholesale and retail tarrifs. Peter Mandelson, the trade commissioner, and Günter Verheugen, the industry commissioner, felt Reding's original plan would have harmed the competitiveness of the mobile industry.

Susanna Huovinen, Finnish minister for transport and communications, expressed the Finnish presidency's support for Reding's proposals. "They are well balanced and provide a good basis for discussions in Parliament and the Council," she said. "My aim is that we can achieve political agreement on this proposal under the Finnish presidency. Citizens will receive positive signs that we will tackle problems common to all citizens."

The UK also gave the proposals a warm welcome. "This is precisely the sort of issue that citizens want us to identify," said a UK government spokesperson. "We look forward to making progress on discussions, so that the next steps deliver benefits to consumers without imposing too rigid a pricing structure on markets and industry."

At a press conference held yesterday, Commission President José Manuel Barroso had laid particular emphasis on the benefits of the proposals not only for consumers, but also for small- and medium-sized businesses. Germany interpreted this as a shift in logic. "What we welcome is that the Commission does not plan to introduce the regulations for retail customers that were under discussion," said one German diplomat. "We see the discussion moving towards business to business tariffs, a step away from retail tariffs."

Reding's concessions to industry were recognised by centre-right MEP Malcolm Harbour, who had been supportive of industry's concerns about heavy-handed regulation. "The final proposals were much more pragmatic and workable. They are simpler, more transparent and allow for a significant degree of competition between operators," he said.

Harbour made mention of a website launched earlier this week by industry lobby the GSM Association, an initiative intended to showcase efforts made by 75 operators to lower rates.

"The mobile operators themselves are obviously reducing prices quite quickly," said Harbour. "I welcome industry's initiative to improve price transparency."

Proposals on roaming charges unveiled yesterday (12 July) by Viviane Reding, commissioner for the information society, look set to sail through the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers following eleventh hour amendments imposed under internal pressure in the European Commission.