Blocking it was the scope of the approach

The project of the European Commissioner in charge of telecommunications, Viviane Reding, to regulate the rates of roaming International ("roaming"), which led to a row battle internally as it had more seen in long, should lead tomorrow. The College should indeed adopt a proposal after the emergence of a consensus yesterday, the weekly meeting of the chiefs of staff.

The big question which had to be decided was not that of the need for the initiative: everyone in the Commission considers excessive prices charged by operators when their customers travel abroad. Some do not hesitate to speak of "racketeering". All members therefore wanted to act, and agreed to propose a settlement, the equivalent in Community law of a decree in French law.

Blocking, it was the scope of the approach. Viviane Reding, supported by some Commissioners wanted to Cap not only wholesale prices, but also those of detail. Indeed, she feared that operators do not affect the invoices of consumers price reductions obtained at the wholesale level. Conversely, other, more liberal Commissioners stigmatize this project as the return to an administered economy, worried about the perverse effects that too sharp regulation might induce and warned against a weakening of the operators European in the world competition. Between the two camps, others attempted to bridge. Thus, the Commissioner for transport, Jacques Barrot, worked on a compromise which would be limited to regulation of wholesale in the first place, while reserving the possibility of action at the level of detail if the industry rechignait to reduce customer bills. Thus, operators retain a margin of manoeuvre. This is the approach that jointly presented last week, Commissioner Barrot, Verheugen (industry) and Mandelson (trade). And it is little or no, that was adopted yesterday: Brussels would intervene on retail prices if action on wholesale prices proves ineffective, giving a few months to assess the situation.

Goodwill

While the Commission was waving on the subject, GSM Europe, an association of some 150 European operators has implemented line, yesterday, history to show its good will, a website that will enable consumers "to find the best rates to pass and receive telephone calls this summer when they travel abroad" (see box).

From a technical point of view, the regulation of wholesale prices will go through the calculation of the average European of termination prices in the EU (commission that takes an operator to route a call to one of its subscribers to a competing network). The text will provide a ceiling, a multiple of this average, distinguishing the calls from abroad, but within the country visited (a taxi in Rome), and calls from abroad to a third country (call home). The text will give mandate to national regulators to monitor the price of SMS (short messaging services) and MMS (Multimedia messaging services).

This record, which could yet evolve from here tomorrow, had a great impact and is the subject of hard lobbying operators, who will continue their action in the coming months, with the MEPs, who should pronounce on the text to the sides of the twenty-five. Viviane Reding wants that the regulation applies as of summer 2007.