The European Commission is on the brink of publishing proposals for regulations it hopes will breathe new life into a plan to cut differences in mobile roaming rates to zero by 2015.
A strategy of cutting retail roaming prices across the region is not enough to achieve the aim of balancing call costs between member states, the EC claims, and the market now needs more regulation to hit the target on time.
Neelie Kroes, the vice president of the EC’s digital agenda, says a fresh set of price cuts introduced today will have only a temporary effect on market prices. “[W]e have to tackle roaming problems at the root with a long-lasting structural approach.”
The proposals will likely cover competitive measures designed to drop the price of voice, text and data roaming to levels approaching domestic costs. Another target area is offering consumers a choice of roaming networks.