EU May Be Considering Delay to End of Mobile Roaming Charges

The elimination of roaming fees for using mobile phones in other EU countries could be delayed in what would be a win for big European telecoms operators at the expense of consumers, according to a draft EU proposal.

Outgoing EU telecoms commissioner Neelie Kroes had made ending such charges for people using their phones across borders inside the bloc a banner element in a package to overhaul the ailing telecoms sector and in April EU lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to abolish roaming fees by 2016.

(Also see: EU proposes to end roaming charges in the region)

But a new draft of the text from Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the 28-nation European Council makes no mention of the date proposed by parliament - Dec. 15, 2015.

Though the draft is likely to be further revised, it suggests only a "glidepath", or gradual reduction in roaming fees towards the goal of "roam like at home" (RLAH) - a time where someone using, say, a British mobile phone in Italy will pay the same charges as if they were still in Britain.

"The legislative date for the initial introduction of RLAH, subject to transitional measures and fair use limits, needs to be defined and is a significant political question," the draft document states.

Charges for roaming have been repeatedly cut by the European Commission, the EU's executive, since 2007. Industry sources say ending roaming charges is not in doubt, it is just the timing. Removing a source of revenue prematurely would hinder operators' ability to invest in faster networks, they say.

Kroes's reform of Europe's telecoms sector is aimed at increasing its competitiveness with the United States and Asia and spurring the continent's big operators like France's Orange and Britain's Vodafone to invest in faster networks.

The Italian proposal will be discussed by national experts in Brussels on Thursday and is likely to undergo changes, said EU officials.

Spectrum
A key plank of the reform was to break down barriers between markets by making the sale of airwaves, or spectrum, more uniform across Europe.

Kroes had proposed giving the Commission a greater say in coordinating the timing of spectrum auctions across countries to help mobile operators expand across borders.

Under the latest draft however, the Commission's power is curtailed and it would only be able to suggest a common timetable, with the final decision remaining in the hands of national regulators.

Telecoms operators had welcomed the Commission's measures to help them buy airwaves across Europe, but member states are loath to give up control over the auctions as they are lucrative source of tax revenue.

© Thomson Reuters 2014