Mobile roaming data and SMS price caps: there are alternatives
Posted, January 08, 2009 @ 15:00
Price-caps and blunt regulation should be last resort
Brussels, 8th January 2009 -- Price capping is not the best way to cut prices and provide transparency for all consumers who send texts or download data abroad, Conservative MEP Syed Kamall, said today as the European Parliament held a hearing on the 'roaming II' proposals.
Mr Kamall has written the parliament's internal market committee position on the regulation, in which he has proposed the committee rejects the approach proposed by the commission.
Instead, he has put forward several alternatives to price capping that deserve consideration, such as allowing the decision to be made by the European Regulators Group - which brings together national regulators, 'non-discrimination' clauses, action against individual abusive operators or markets and the establishment of an exchange for wholesale voice, SMS and data.
Mr Kamall is very supportive of measures to provide greater transparency to consumers to prevent bill shock.
He said:
"We need to create an environment that brings prices down for everybody, and often price caps and blunt regulation have unintended consequences.
"Regulation should always be an absolute last resort, particularly when the technology and applications for mobile phone data are still developing at a fast pace.
"I have proposed the parliament rejects the proposals in order to kick-start a debate since the commission does not appear to have provided a comprehensive impact assessment. We should explore if there are alternative ways to reduce prices and provide much clearer information to consumers, without clumsy interference on a pan-European level."