INQUIRY INTO MOBILE ROAMING CHARGES

THE House of Lords EU Committee has begun an inquiry into the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on roaming charges made by mobile phone operators for the use of mobile phones in other countries of the EU.

The objective of the Commission's draft regulation is to ensure that mobile phone users don't pay excessive prices for international roaming services when making and receiving calls.

The Committee are looking in detail at the Commission's proposals and will then report back with their findings in April. The Committee issued a call for evidence and were accepting submissions until February 23.

Some of the issues the new Committee are exploring are:

(1) Are charges for making and receiving calls on mobile phones in different member states appropriate or excessive? Is the market sufficiently competitive?

(2) Have the mobile phone industry been effective in self-regulating to keep down charges?

(3) Will the proposed regulations risk narrowing the space for competition and harming investment and innovation in the sector?

(4) Would lower roaming charges spill over into higher charges for other mobile telephony services?