Press Releases

GSM Europe Press Statement

Brussels, Belgium 07^thFebruary 2006 : In the context of the ongoing debate regarding roaming tariffs in Europe, the GSM Europe (GSME), the European Interest Group of the GSM Association, affirms that it fully supports tariff transparency and competition in roaming markets in Europe. Furthermore, the GSME welcomes any initiative that will further benefit customers.

Full tariff information should always be available to customers, so that they can best manage the use of their mobile phone and can make reasoned choices between competing service providers. This issue has been on the agenda of European operators for many years and the GSME formalised the operators' position in 2001 when it introduced a voluntary Code of Conduct on Roaming Tariff Transparency. The Code sets out a minimum level of information that signatories must provide to their customers to ensure transparency . To date 71 operators have signed up to the Code.

Over the past year many European operators have introduced new lower tariffs and discount packages. This has given customers more choice and enhanced value for money. However, international roaming remains a value added service allowing customers to freely make and receive calls all over the world.

Several legal tools already exist and have been used to review competition in roaming markets and, where found necessary, to impose remedies. Under European law, national regulators have the power to regulate national roaming markets at the wholesale level, in cases where they deem competition is not working effectively. Therefore regulators should first examine wholesale roaming markets before they decide whether regulation of retail tariffs is necessary. Several National Regulatory Authorities have also introduced roaming guides for consumers or tariff websites, and operators support these initiatives. Retail price regulation is always a last resort. Given the detrimental impact such an intervention would cause to the European mobile industry and its global competitiveness, GSME would caution against such an approach being adopted by the European Commission.

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