Arab Regulators Call for Lower International Roaming Rates
A meeting of the Arab Regulators Network (AREGNET) has adopted a recommendation to pressure the mobile operators to lower their international roaming rates - much in the way the EU's Viviane Reding has pushed for within Europe. The group of regulators has decided to present its recommendations to the Council of Arab Ministers of Telecommunications and Information Technology at its meeting in June.
The proposals would lead to a gradual reduction in roaming rates of at least a third over a period of three years.
"The Arab regulators, having considered the proposed self-regulatory principles presented by the mobile industry, believe that the industry has still some way to go in achieving the expectations of the Arab regulators and consequently the level of benefits to be passed to the consumer," Aregnet president and TRA general director Alan Horne said, "Therefore, we have agreed on a set of recommendations, to be submitted to the Council of Arab Ministers of Telecommunications and Information Technology, to regulate roaming charges and reduce prices paid by consumers to more reasonable levels.
"However, we leave the door open for the industry to come back to us with broader reaching and more detailed proposals and measures, which could provide significant tangible benefits to the consumers within a reasonable timeframe."
The Arab Regulators Network covers twenty-one nations in North Africa and the Middle East.
Posted to the site on 10th April 2008
