The document summarizes regulations and initiatives related to mobile roaming charges in Europe and globally. Key points include: - Regulation 531/2012 reduced wholesale and retail roaming charges in the EU and will be reviewed every two years until it expires in 2022. - Bilateral agreements and domestic regulations have aimed to reduce roaming charges outside of Europe. - Industry initiatives promote price transparency but advocates call for stronger consumer protections like price caps. - International standards bodies discuss policies around ensuring reasonable roaming rates and protecting consumers from unexpected bills.

1. Ewan Sutherland
LINK Centre, Wits University
CRIDS, University of Namur

2.  Roaming Regulation III (531/2012)
 Previous Reg. was to expire in June 2012
 EC legislative proposal in July 2011
 Adopted by Parliament and Council
◦ Toughened in several respects
 European Commission to review its
functioning of Roaming III and, after a public
consultation, to report:
◦ by 30th June 2016 and
◦ every two years thereafter
 Regulation expires in 2022
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 2
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32012R0531:EN:NOT

3. Per 1 July 2012 1 July 2013 1 July 2014
Wholesale voice call
made
Minute
0.14 0.10 0.05
Retail call made Minute
0.29 0.24 0.19
Retail call received Minute
0.08 0.07 0.05
Wholesale SMS Message
0.03 0.02 -
Retail SMS Message
0.09 0.08 0.06
Wholesale data Megabyte
0.25 0.15 0.05
Retail data Megabyte
0.70 0.45 0.20
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 3

4.  Longstanding hope of finding a structural
remedy
 From 1 January 2013 mobile operators
required to provide wholesale roaming:
◦ Must meet all reasonable requests
◦ “may refuse requests … only on the basis of
objective criteria”
◦ Regulators to provide dispute resolution
◦ Must publish a reference offer
 From 1 July 2013 customers can buy roaming
separately from domestic services
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 4

5.  Rwanda – regulator imposed USD
0.22/minute tax on roaming
 Zain “One Network” deal slipping away under
Airtel but still free incoming calls
 GCC countries implementing regional deal
 Bilateral intergovernmental agreement to
reduce rates
◦ Singapore and Brunei
◦ Russia and Poland and Lithuania
 NTT DoCoMo and KT have roaming for NFC
e-money
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 5

6.  Symposium in March 2012 to inform Council
for Trade in Services
 Considered experiences:
◦ European Union
◦ GCC
◦ Southern African Development Community
◦ Australia-New Zealand initiative
◦ Latin America
 May yet come to the Council for action
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 6
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/sym_march12_e/sym_march12_e.htm

7.  Joint initiative of the two governments
◦ Trans-Tasman roaming
 Published a draft report in August for comments
(now closed)
 ACCAN (consumers) called for:
◦ Bilateral price caps with mandatory pass through of
savings
◦ Price transparency
◦ Increased powers for regulators
◦ Removal of fees to unlock handsets
 Operators argued that:
◦ market failure was not lack of competition, but due to
poor levels of consumer information
◦ Price regulation only as a last resort
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 7
http://www.dbcde.gov.au/mobile_services/mobile_roaming/trans-tasman_mobile_roaming

8.  Member states
 Should promote awareness of:
◦ the cost of roaming services and
◦ the availability of substitutes
 Should work with domestic operators to make
information easily available
◦ SMS, etc.
 Should promote transparency of information
provided to customers
◦ Anti-bill shock measure
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 8
http://webnet.oecd.org/OECDACTS/Instruments/ShowInstrumentView.aspx?InstrumentID=271&Lang=en&Book=False

9.  In assessing mergers should examine the
potential effects on
◦ Beneficial roaming offers for consumers
◦ Negotiating powers of third party operators
 Collect data on headline and discounted
wholesale rates
 Facilitate access for MVNOs
 Regulate prices where “market dynamics are
insufficient to produce reasonably competitive
wholesale prices”
 Last resort is retail price regulation
 Assess costs and benefits of all measures
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 9

10.  Price transparency initiatives:
◦ Europe in 2000
◦ Arab states in 2008
 2012 Data Roaming Transparency Initiative:
◦ Twenty operators/groups signed up
◦ Send SMS on arrival in foreign country
◦ Allow a monthly spending limit
◦ Shut down service after that is used up
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 10
http://www.gsmaw.org/
http://www.gsma.com/newsroom/gsma-launches-data-roaming-transparency-initiative/

11.  Roaming first raised in ITU-T in June 2012
 Just adopted Recommendation D.98
◦ Charging in international mobile roaming service
 Member States:
◦ Should take an active role in consumer education
and protection, also explore ways to protect and
empower consumers
◦ Should encourage the development of effectively
competitive markets for roaming
◦ May introduce regulatory measures
(e.g., alerts, bill caps, tariff caps and
pre-selection)
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 11
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/recommendations/rec.aspx?rec=11556

12.  World Conference on International Telecommunications
◦ 2-12 December 2012, Dubai
 Adoption of new International Telecommunications
Regulations (ITRs)
◦ Replacing those adopted in 1988 at Melbourne
 Many, many preparatory meetings
 Wide range of issues, including roaming:
◦ To ensure transparency of end-user prices
◦ To ensure users receive full price information promptly when they
cross a border
◦ To base prices are based on
 Actual costs for the service provider, or
 Prices charged
 in the user’s home country, or
 in the visited country.
◦ To prevent bill shock
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 12
http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/

13.  Despite long years of complaint the causes
remain unknown
 Legislation and regulation will continue for
many years
 Outside EU/EEA countries are still struggling
to find ways to reduce roaming charges
◦ Often of interest only to the very wealthy
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 13

14. Ewan Sutherland
http://3wan.net/
sutherla [@] gmail.com
+44 141 649 4040
skype://sutherla
http:// www.ssrn.com/author=927092
http://anti-corruption-telecoms.blogspot.com
Ewan Sutherland, 17-18 October 2012, EVUA, Amsterdam 14