The EU has confirmed that it will stick to it pledge to cap roaming prices after a survey found that 70% of Europeans want the EU to act to cut the cost of phone calls abroad. European Union Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding, who put forward the idea, said that "this [high prices] hurts consumers, it hurts European industry and it hurts Europe."
Capping roaming prices is a highly interventionist policy that is unnecessary in a well functioning free market. Naturally, mobile operators are against the introduction of such a law as they are already reducing roaming prices. The EU should drop its obstructionist ideas and let the free power of consumers to determine roaming or any other prices. Only this way can the EU ensure that the consumers, European industry and Europe as a whole will benefit.
Comments
The Commission know better....as usual
I am surprised that 30% of Europeans did not want the EU to act to cut the cost of phone calls abroad. If you put the question that way, who wouldn't want cheaper phone calls?
But what would the result have been if they had given Europeans the option of cheaper roaming calls but higher domestic calls, or cheaper roaming calls but less availability of service, or cheaper roaming calls but less investment in mobile networks? That money had to be going somewhere.
It could only be going in pure profit if the mobile telecoms markets were not competitive, otherwise the profits would quickly be reduced by competition. If there really is collusion in the market, the Commission should tackle the collusion, not the resultant pricing. If there is no collusion, the Commission should accept the roaming charges as the necessary cost to encourage people to invest in the market and provide the services we want.
After all, no one is forced to make a roaming mobile call. If the Commission forces the price below the level determined by the market, those of us who want to use the facility may find it less available or reliable. I'd rather have the choice.