COMMISSION STILL ON THE WARPATH OVER INTERNATIONAL ROAMING RATES.

• Position: European Commissioner for Media and Information Society - Brief Article

The European Commissioner for Media and Information Society, Viviane Reding, has asked her department to table a draft proposal within the next few days for a Regulation that would limit the cost of mobile calls from abroad (roaming), according to information published on-line by the French business daily La Tribune on February 3. It indicated that the Commission has decided to attack mobile telecoms operators directly so that consumers can benefit from better rates when travelling abroad.

The system currently allows a traveller in a foreign country to use the local mobile network which then bills the operator in his home country at a wholesale rate. The original operator then passes this cost on to the client at an excessively high rate according to the Commission, quoted by La Tribune.

The website latribune.fr confirms that...