Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, has been campaigning for a single, unified telecoms market across Europe. TelecomsTech first reported on this initiative in January.
She is now intensifying that effort, calling for the abolition of mobile roaming charges by 2014 in a speech to the European Parliament.
Many of us have experienced the shock of unexpectedly high roaming bills while using a mobile phone abroad. Although roaming costs have already come down compared with previous years—thanks in part to an EU-approved cap on calls, texts, and data—consumers still face confusion and added expense when they travel.
Kroes’ proposal for a single telecoms market is intended to address those problems and also to protect an open internet through net neutrality principles. She argues that a harmonised market would stimulate economic growth across the continent and strengthen political and digital ties among member states.
Her plan is ambitious and, she says, enjoys backing at the highest institutional levels. At the same time, Kroes acknowledges that the final legislation may not satisfy every stakeholder completely, since it seeks to strike a workable balance between competing interests.
In Kroes’ native Netherlands, similar legislation was adopted in May of the previous year after careful negotiation to reach a “sensitive balance.” Kroes hopes the EU-wide proposal will be finalised and presented by Easter 2014.
While the policy aims to boost the wider economy, consumers are likely to see the most immediate benefits: clearer pricing, fewer surprises, and ultimately a single, lower rate when using mobile services in other EU countries.
One commentator on a related TNW article summed up public sentiment succinctly: “We need more politicians like Neelie Kroes. I admire her work and determination. It makes no sense to have to roam from Vodafone UK to Vodafone DE etc when it’s the same company.”
Would you support the removal of mobile roaming fees? What are your thoughts on Neelie Kroes’ push for a single telecoms market?