The European Commission has tabled its latest proposal to help cut mobile phone roaming charges.
The EC is preparing to table formal proposals in a matter of weeks, but it is now focusing on the costs imposed by each operator on their rivals rather than simply the costs charged to each phone customer.
Initially, the EC proposed that customers should not be charged extra for simply using their phones in another country.
However, this proposal would have severely impacted operators, with roaming charges making up a big slice of their profits.
After a consultation with the industry, the EC now seems to have shied away from the proposal, and is instead proposing that the wholesale roaming charges imposed on each other by the operators should instead be capped.
End-users would still be expected to pay a roaming charge, plus a profit margin of no more than 30%.
The GSM Association, however, which represents operator, says this proposal is “flawed” and will “distort” the market.
