EU defies phone firms to clamp down on mobile fees
EUROPEAN lawmakers voted for steeper cuts to mobile phone roaming charges yesterday in a move that defied calls by the chief executives of Vodafone and France Telecom for a moratorium on revenue-hitting telecoms regulation.
Politicians from the European Parliament agreed to lower the cost of making phone calls when abroad by up to two-thirds within two years, going further than a proposal initially floated by the European Commission last summer.
Now the Commission and Parliament must thrash out a final plan with 27 EU governments to approve the new caps before June, when current roaming rules expire.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, telecoms executives have accused Europe’s regulators of sapping the industry of much needed capital.
“What does Europe need? Does Europe need investment? Does Europe need employment or does Europe need mobile termination rate cuts,” said Vittorio Colao of Vodafone.