EC to act on cost of international texting

The EC is to lay down the law on cutting the high costs of texting across borders, after the industry failed to take voluntary action.

The move has been welcomed by 3 UK which took the opportunity to call for action on data roaming too.

Kevin Russell,  Chief Executive Officer, 3  UK on EC statement today on text
and data roaming:

"It took the EC to intervene on behalf of the consumer on voice roaming, and
we're glad it intends to do the same on texts.  We share the Commission's
concerns that data prices remain too high and are a likely cause of "bill
shock".  We are pleased to note that they are still looking closely at data
roaming and the possibility of a wholesale safety net.  Data roaming is
rapidly becoming a big issue as sales of mobile broadband modems soar and it
is absolutely logical that people want to take advantage of mobile access to
the internet when they are travelling across Europe.  If "bill shock" is to
be avoided, we think similar action will be required on data, or customers
will continue to face excessive charges.

"We’re concerned enough about the problem that we have made it necessary for
3’s Mobile Broadband customers in the UK to “opt in” if they want to take
advantage of data roaming outside of 3's networks.   We offer roaming on 3's
international networks within the customers home contract -- a service known
as 3 Like Home.  We are so concerned about bill shock that we recommend that
customers have a £50 limit put on their account to ensure they don’t
overspend  when they roam off 3's networks and  find they have a roaming
bill that ruins their post-holiday spirit.

"We believe the recent cuts of up to 40 per cent for data are not an
effective response to Ms Reding’s challenge, as even then customers are
still being charged more than 100 times what they are charged at home for
using mobile internet services while roaming.   More importantly for them,
they will still be finding they are charged very large amounts for
individual experiences, such as down-loading a music track, a video or a TV
programme.

"The industry has failed to get wholesale prices down to levels at which the
market for data can take off and, therefore, regulatory action is necessary.
We have offered every operator in Europe a reciprocal wholesale data roaming
deal of 25 Euro cents per MB, but only five out of  more than 90 networks
have taken us up on it.

"Data roaming is a clear example of lack of competitive pressure on
wholesale rates. We believe regulation is necessary if prices are to fall
enough for customers to get a good deal and for the roaming market to take
off in line with the rapid growth we are now seeing in domestic markets.  We
are really in danger of seeing customers confused by being in the fast-lane
for mobile internet take-up at home then finding they are in the very
fast-line for prices when they head off on their travels."

Comments

[Broadband Girl]

I think its about time this happened, people are so unaware of roaming charges when abroad. Things need to be made clearer by the ISP's and costs certainly need to be brought down.