European roaming fee cuts (continued II)

The arm-wrestling match between The EU Commission and European mobile operators has continued last week. The European mobile operators' strategy is clear: trying to render EU Commission' s project harmless and avoid harsh regulation. During the week, three new operators announced that they plan to cut roaming fees by at least 40%. They are O2, Telefonica and T-Mobile. But the debate is not over. Operators have gained the support of European telecom regulators Group (ERG). ERG approved the EU Commission on the fnal goal, but criticized it on the means, saying such price caps could have "unexpected consequences", and that the result could be achieved through wholesale price regulation. The European Commission, however, said it aims to propose a regulation on roaming before the summer that would go into effect next year, to be applied to all mobile operators, and not allow few operators (even if they are the major operators in Europe) to decide cuts in their corner.

According to the EU Commission, the European roaming market is assessed to be worth €12bn, and prices could vary in Europe from €0.2 to €13 for a 4-minute call.