EU has several years has forced telecom companies to gradually reduce the extra charges that mobile users in Europe have to pay when they use their mobile phone in another EU country. But now, in a year’s time to elect new members to the EU Parliament and Neelie Kroes mandate as European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda is about to expire, she wants to take more drastic measures.
In a speech to EU Parliament on Thursday Kroes did a great point that she did not care about the planned speech she intended to keep. Instead, she came with something more like an election speech with a set of objectives. Among other things, Neelie Kroes that roaming charges will be abolished in the EU.
phone companies, especially in the major tourist destinations in southern Europe, earning big money on the fees mobile users have to pay when they are abroad. The companies have also previously protested vigorously when the EU forced through reductions in charges.
But the charges itself goes against the idea of ??the whole EU area is a common market. In practice, the European mobile market as a variety of national markets where customers have to pay dearly when they are in another EU country and making or receiving a call on another telephone company networks.
In telecom, of all sectors, there is no place for a few boundaries. There is no other sector of our incomplete European common market where the barriers are so unnecessary and still so high, said Neelie Kroes in her speech.
She hopes now have a complete package with regulations ready by Easter 2014. The package should also provide with rules preventing phone companies to stop or reduce the services such as Skype and Viber.
Among consumers, it has become increasingly popular to make calls and send messages using a variety of data services in the mobile. It allows them to avoid paying for telecom companies normal mobile calls and sms.
That, in turn, received some telephone companies to respond by simply blocking services or degrade performance for them so much that they will not be useful. Neelie Kroes is not at all keen on the matter and demanded an open Internet where all traffic is admitted on the same terms.
But it seems also be a lot that will not be included in the new package. Telecommunications companies have such long complained that the European market is too fragmented. While in the United States are only three or four major wireless carriers, they are considerably more in Europe and the market would, as phone companies see it, feel good that more companies could be merged together to achieve economies of scale. Some rule changes of the kind that can open to mergers seems, according to various news reports, not being on time.
phone companies are also critical that the European market is so fragmented in terms of how spectrum is allocated to the various phone companies. Many of them would ideally also see that there was a single EU body that managed the regulation of the telecommunications market and not as now 27 national authorities. Nor is there seems to be some changes.
