The Story of the EU and the Happily Roaming Consumers Case No. C58/08, Vodafone Ltd, et al. v. Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Once upon a time, there were roaming charges and disgruntled consumers. As a result of a preliminary ruling concerning the validity of a legislative measure on roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the European Union (hereinafter 'Union'), the regulation of roaming charges may have been changed forever.

The reference had been made in proceedings between operators of public mobile telephone networks, including Vodafone Ltd, Telefónica O2 Europe plc, T-Mobile International AG, and Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd, and the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The roaming regulation aimed to cap the wholesale and retail charges mobile operators could charge for the provision of roaming services on public mobile networks for voice calls between Member States.

The validity of the roaming regulation was challenged on three grounds, namely that its legal basis was inadequate, that it infringed the principle of proportionality, and that it offended the principle of subsidiarity. It was left to the Court of Justice to seal the fate of the roaming consumers.