EC lists roaming slowpokes

Most — but not all — of the European Union’s mobile phone operators have complied with a price cap on cross-border phone calls imposed earlier this week, according to a report from European Commission.

The operators had until July 30 to offer the new Eurotariff, the long-debated pricing scheme that puts an upper cap on the roaming fees that operators can charge when E.U. customers make and receive outside their home country.

Under the new caps, consumers in the E.U. pay a roaming fee of €0.49 ($0.68) per minute to make a call outside their national borders, and €0.24 to receive a call. Those rates will fall to €0.46 and €0.22 respectively in the second year, and €0.43 and €0.19 in the third.

On Friday morning, of the 95 operators that received questionnaires from the Commission to asses compliance, Bulgaria’s Mobiltel d.d. was listed as being not compliant, Cytamobile-Vodafone of Cyprus as being significantly late to offer the reduced rates, and a dozen companies as having not filed a response, according to the report.

However, some operators complained that the questionnaire was poorly administered or that errors were made in handling their responses. The Commission has been updating the site throughout the day, and by late afternoon Friday none of the operators were listed as late or not compliant, only as having not replied.

Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd., one of the operators listed by the Commission as failing to reply, is in compliance with the reduced tariffs, according to spokeswoman Joanne Baker. “Because we didn’t receive the questionnaire, we couldn’t reply. But we’ve since completed the questionnaire,” she said.

The U.K. company, which operates outside the Euro zone, released a statement Friday announcing new roaming fees. Customers pay £0.38 ($0.77) per minute to make a call from an E.U. country and £0.19 per minute to receive one. The rates will be effective from Aug. 30 and apply to all pay monthly and pay-as-you-go customers without them having to opt in, it said.

Several mobile phone operators in the E.U.’s newest member states, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, are among those listed as not providing a response.

In October, the Commission and E.U. regulators will review compliance to the new roaming ordinance and take action, if necessary, according to Martin Selmayr, a Commission spokesman.

“There are instruments available” to penalize violators, he said.

The Commission roaming score card also notes operators that offer prices below the caps. Selmayr mentioned Poland’s PT Sp. z.o.o. and the U.K.’s Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. (3) as companies with competitive roaming charges.