By Chris Jones - 10th July 2006
EU media commissioner Viviane Reding has moved quickly to stave off a possible defeat over her plans to regulate mobile phone charges.
Reding’s controversial plans to subject international roaming charges to strict regulation are due to be voted on by the European commission on Wednesday.
But fears that the draconian price-fixing rules she was proposing would damage competition have led several commissioners, including the powerful enterprise chief Günter Verheugen and trade commissioner Peter Mandelson, to break ranks and question the plans.
The Luxembourg commissioner has decided to back down over her plans to ban mobile phone companies from charging customers to receive calls when abroad, according to FT Europe.
But these charges will still be regulated, as will the fees charged by companies for placing calls from abroad.
But the industry will have six months to establish the maximum call charges for international roaming, meaning that Reding will have to give up any hope of pushing through her plans for lower prices in time for this year’s summer holiday season.
Reding’s plans to force through reductions in the wholesale cost of roaming are expected to be backed by the commission, but the dissenting faction is thought to have argued that retail price regulation should only be considered if operators fail to pass on the reduction to consumers.
This was the approach taken by the industry and by national regulators, who argued that Reding would be setting an unhealthy precedent by introducing retail price controls within the internal market.
Malcolm Harbour, the British centre-right MEP and a member of the European parliament’s internal market committee, also welcomed Reding’s change of heart.
“The concern about roaming charges can best be dealt with by competition between suppliers and price transparency is a key method of giving consumers choice.”
“Consumer choice is improved by better information not more regulation. Direct intervention by the commission is wrong.”
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