STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- Denmark's telecom regulator IT- og Telestyrelsen Monday said regulators from 32 European countries decided to intensify their efforts to find a harmonized approach to the regulation of mobile international roaming services at a meeting last week.
The European Regulators Group said it had previously established a joint project to consider analysis of wholesale international roaming, a market recommended by the European Commission for consideration for regulation.
The wholesale market comprises services offered by mobile network operators to one another to allow retail customers to make and receive mobile calls when abroad.
In the light of their joint work, ERG noted that retail charges are currently very high without clear justification and that this appears to result both from high wholesale charges levied by the foreign host network operator and also, in many cases, from high retail markups charged by the customer's own network operator.
ERG also said reductions in wholesale charges are often not passed through to the retail customers and that consumers often lack clear information on the charges for roaming.
ERG said it adopted a common position on wholesale market definition and market analysis at the meeting and that this common position will be published for consultation.
Drawing on that common approach, National Regulatory Agencies will now proceed with analysis of their national markets, notifying the Commission of their planned decisions in due course.
The ERG said it also established a project team to identify measures to be put in place in order to improve tariff transparency.
ERG said the regulators will discuss progress at their next meeting in September and will consider at that time whether further development of their common approach is necessary.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 30th May 2005
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/12991.php