EC still convinced mobile roaming consensus is possible

Failure to agree on a law slashing the cost of using your mobile phone abroad this week hasn’t dented the European Commission’s optimism that the legislation will still be passed, it said Friday.

The proposal has been the subject of intense negotiations between the European Parliament, the Commission and the 27 national governments all week. There was still no agreement by late Friday, but Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said the Commission “remains confident” the law will be passed.

The Commission and the Parliament are eager to reach agreement on maximum levels of so-called roaming charges before Europeans start their annual migration south to warm holiday destinations — the peak time of year for using phones abroad.

However some powerful countries are resisting pressure to curb the costs, which the Commission says it wants to reduce by around 70 percent.

The U.K. and France are trying to secure a better deal for mobile phone operators, under pressure from two of the largest mobile phone companies in the E.U. — Vodafone Group of the U.K. and France’s Orange.

Germany, holder of the six-month rotating presidency of the E.U., is negotiating on behalf of all 27 countries. It has proposed capping roaming charges at €0.60 ($0.82) per minute for making a call abroad, and €0.30 for receiving one.

The Parliament has proposed €0.45 and €0.20 respectively — similar to the levels suggested by the Commission.

Failure to narrow the gap means that the proposal has been removed from the agenda of next week’s plenary session of Parliament. Instead, it will be debated and voted on come May 22, the Commission said.

The GSM Association has lobbied lawmakers intensively over the past months. It argues that the Parliament’s price caps would more than half operators’ annual retail revenues from €5 billion to €2.4 billion. The organization claims that this dramatic fall would curb operators’ abilities to innovate and invest in new services and infrastructure, and it could lead to a contraction in coverage across the E.U.

European consumer organizations describe current roaming retail prices as “scandalously high” (€0.58 to €5 per minute) and want the price caps to be readjusted to reflect the real costs of roaming, which, according to a French consumer group, is around €0.24.

If the Parliament vote takes place at the end of May 2007, the 27 telecoms ministers from each country could give their final approval to the law at a meeting on June 7. As the regulation will be directly applicable in all member states after its publication, the new price caps could still take effect in July.