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European mobile phone users could carry the cost of hefty cuts to the lucrative wholesale fees operators charge each other for connecting calls on their networks. Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms chief, believes such fees are “guaranteed money” that have created “real distortion” in the EU’s single telecoms market. She wants operators to cut the fees to between 1 and 2 euro cents, significantly down on the current average of 8 euro cents a minute. But operators privately warned that her plan to publish proposals next month to encourage national telecoms regulators to cut wholesale rates would hurt consumers. Retail fees – the charges past to the mobile user – would be hiked by operators as they redress the lost revenues, in what would be a blow to Ms Reding’s pro-consumer stance. One operator anonymously told the Financial Times that her efforts could result in a US-style business model for Europe, where users would pay to receive – and make – calls via their handsets. Asked by the paper whether she would like to see users in Europe pay for receiving their calls, as they do in the US, China and Singapore, Ms Reding said: “Why not?” One reason is that the absence of charges for receiving call is widely seen as the key factor in explaining why mobile phone ownership is higher in Europe than the US. “The whole market is developing,” Ms Reding argued, “so we should not stay on the rules that have been in place 10 years… I think the business models are not for the European commissioner to decide. Business models are for the operators to decide.” Meanwhile, she has signalled that European operators should expect cuts on the cost of sending texts abroad, while also telling them that charges for internet surfing overseas should follow suit. Although operators have trimmed their cross-border SMS rates, Ms Reding believes the reductions are disappointing, and is ready to impose the cuts after a deadline of July 1 “unless a miracle happens.” From today, European mobile users should note that wherever they are on the continent, the new number for emergency services including ambulance, police or fire brigade is 112. Jun 17, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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