Archive for June, 2010
Europe – EC concludes that competition on the EU’s roaming market is not yet strong enough to provide better choice and even better rates to consumers
June 30th, 2010 | 
Author: [ec] EU mobile operators have reduced their roaming charges in line with the maximum price caps established by EU rules, first introduced in 2007 and amended last July, according to the European Commission’s interim report on roaming published today. Price transparency has improved. The cost for roaming calls has decreased by more than 70% since 2005 and sending a text message between EU Member States costs 60% less. However, consumers still do not enjoy significantly lower tariffs than those imposed by EU rules. The Commission’s report therefore concludes that competition on the EU’s roaming market is not yet strong enough to provide better choice and even better rates to consumers.
Commission Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes said: “The cost of using mobile phones or devices when abroad in the EU has fallen continuously since the adoption of the first roaming rules. But three years since the rules came in, most operators propose retail prices that hover around the maximum legal caps. More competition on the EU roaming market would provide better choice and even better rates to consumers.”
Under the amended roaming rules adopted in June 2009, EU citizens benefit from lower tariffs for voice and SMS roaming services and are better informed about the prices that they pay for data roaming . The cap on the maximum price consumers pay for roamed voice calls fell from €0.46 to €0.43 per minute (excluding VAT) as of 1 July 2009 and will decrease further to €0.39 per minute as of 1 July 2010. The capped-price of a text message fell by almost 60% to €0.11 as of 1 July 2009. The prices that operators charge each other for data roaming will drop from €1 to €0.80 per MegaByte uploaded or downloaded as of July 2010.
Although legislation has led to lower prices, the today’s report shows that, despite the introduction of regulatory limits, the EU roaming market is still not competitive enough to provide the best choice and price to consumers. Retail prices tend to cluster around the EU regulated maximum price caps. At the end of 2009, the EU legal maximum for roamed voice calls was €0.43 per minute, and consumers who chose the “Euro- tariff” paid on average €0.38 per minute for making a roaming phone call Euro-tariff consumers also paid on average €0.17 per minute for calls received while roaming, slightly below the legal cap of €0.19.
In the Commission’s view, EU rules give operators plenty of margin to offer more attractive roaming tariffs below the regulatory limits. Ultimately the difference between roaming and national tariffs should approach zero by 2015, in line with the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe.
For data roaming, the report confirms that wholesale prices have fallen to well below the EU maximum (€1 per MegaByte uploaded or download). Operators were charging each other an average of €0.55 per MegaByte at the end of 2009. Average consumer prices have also fallen, from €3.62 per MegaByte to €2.66 at the end of 2009. The Commission expects operators to pass on savings at wholesale level to consumers as lower retail prices, which it will continue to monitor.
The Commission’s analysis also shows that consumers are making more use of roaming services. Despite an estimated 12% decline in travel, overall volumes of calls received and SMS sent while abroad in the EU have grown over the past two years. In particular, 20% more text messages were sent in the summer of 2009, than in the previous summer, following the introduction of the EU-wide 11 cents SMS price cap.
Data roaming services grew by more than 40 % in volume terms in 2009. As smart phones and other hand-held devices become more widespread, this trend is expected to continue.
The Commission will review the 2009 roaming rules in full by the end of June 2011. It will assess whether their objectives have been achieved and whether the market for roaming services is working as it should – namely as a Single Digital Market.
Telecoms: roaming prices down but competition still not strong enough, says Commission report
see also interim report
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Europe – Spanish presidency has said its objectives on the digital agenda were achieved – now for Belgium
[Spain] The Spanish Presidency of the European Union believes its goals in telecommunications, energy, industry and the information society have been achieved, with actions such as the approval of the European Digital Agenda.
The Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information Society, Francisco Ros, underlined this today, Thursday, before the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Investigation (ITRE), where he gave an overview of all of the actions carried out over the past six months.
Ros said the EU Council of Ministers has approved the new European Digital Agenda, an action plan that aims to create a Single Digital Market and boost European consumers’ online confidence.
Moreover, the Spanish Presidency has worked hard for energy to be included as one of the goals of the EU 2020 Strategy, within the iconic initiative “A resource-efficient Europe”.
Another achievement mentioned by Ros was the official launch, during the Conference on the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) held in Madrid, of the first four industrial clean energy technology initiatives: wind energy, solar energy, smart grids and carbon capture and storage.
The Spanish Presidency has also behind the design of the European Strategy on clean, energy-efficient vehicles, including specific measures on the electric vehicle, which will be fundamental for Europe’s future in terms of energy, industry and technology.
Spain has achieved its goals in telecommunications, energy and industry
Nigeria – Govt insists that SIM must be registered and sale of unregistered cards stopped
[automated reader] The Nigerian government has directed all telecommunications operators in the country to discontinue the sale of unregistered SIM cards used in mobile phones, a senior official said Friday.
New SIM cards can’t be sold “without capturing the necessary data,” the News Agency of Nigeria reported Dora Akunyili, minister of communications, as saying in Abuja Thursday during a meeting with telecommunications operators.
The Nigerian Communications Commission, or NCC, in December announced that SIM card registration would begin in the country in March 2010 but postponed it to May 1.
It said SIM registration was part of efforts to curb crime in the country and would begin with new SIM cards purchased by new subscribers.
Akunyili said at a meeting with telecommunications operators in Abuja that some telecommunication operators were “resisting the registration of new SIM cards.”
“There is no going back on SIM card registration,” she said.
Internet – ICANN has created dot XXX, so it is time to secure your own domain to protect yourself
[bbc] Official approval has been given for the creation of an internet domain dedicated to pornography.
The board of net overseer Icann gave initial approval for the creation of the .xxx domain at its conference in Brussels.
Icann’s approval will kick off a fast-track process to get the porn-only domain set up.
ICM Registry, which is backing the domain, said .xxx would make it easier to filter out inappropriate content.
The decision ends a long campaign by ICM Registry to win approval.
Stuart Lawley, chairman of ICM, welcomed the decision and said it was “great news for those that wish to consume, or avoid, adult content”.
Pakistan – Govt will monitor major website that might be considered blasphemous to the state religion
[bbc] Pakistan will start monitoring seven major websites, including Google and Yahoo, for content it deems offensive to Muslims.
YouTube, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail and Bing will also come under scrutiny, while 17 less well-known sites will be blocked.
Officials will monitor the sites and block links deemed inappropriate.
In May, Pakistan banned access to Facebook after the social network hosted a “blasphemous” competition to draw the prophet Muhammad.
The new action will see Pakistani authorities monitor content published on the seven sites, blocking individual pages if content is judged to be offensive.
Telecoms official Khurram Mehran said links would be blocked without disturbing the main website.
