European roaming fees to cease from next year

Yep read about this and its good news if you are travelling in the EU, should make bills a lot more smaller.
 
The providers will just make up the lost revenue by charging us more at home so in actual fact the poorer will pay more and the richer less...
 
Never understood why this existed anyway.

If i'm with Tmobile UK, then it shouldn't cost them anymore if I start accessing data via Tmobile in Germany after all the EU is one single market.

3 had the right idea with '3 at home' where you could use your phone in any EU country that 3 operated in just as you'd use it in the UK i.e calls, txts, data all coming out of your allowance.

I left 3 the day that they cancelled that.
 
Vodafone lose one of the few reasons i stay with them when this comes in.Their Eurotraveller bundle is top notch at themo
 
DIABLO said:
The providers will just make up the lost revenue by charging us more at home so in actual fact the poorer will pay more and the richer less...
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Exactly. The people using PAYG internet at home will be subsidising those going abroad.

Dumb idea. The EU isn't a single market.

Trying to create massive European companies who can avoid doing that will only create massive companies like AT&T and Verizon in the US.

Tariffs will also become very expensive like in the US if inclusive internet also has to be allowed abroad.
 
Tariffs probably won't change that much. And it won't create large single operators like the US because they already exist here in the EU. Tmobile in the uk is the same company as Tmobile in Germany. Same as Vodafone and Telefónica, they all have their own country variants, but are ultimately the same company.
 
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Nymins said:
Tariffs probably won't change that much. And it won't create large single operators like the US because they already exist here in the EU. Tmobile in the uk is the same company as Tmobile in Germany. Same as Vodafone and Telefónica, they all have their own country variants, but are ultimately the same company.
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They do not exist in every EU country. Being in a a few countries of 27 member states is no good. This ruling applies everywhere in the EU.

AT&T and Verizon operate in all of the US states. That is what will have to happen.

We will end up with a few operators. Three and other "small" operators will be screwed.

The European mobile market will become one massive oligopoly with high tariffs like in the US.

You can see here how much the likes of Vodafone will have to expand to cover the EU.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-to-end-mobile-roaming-charges-next-year.html

...
“There are around 100 operators in Europe and only four in the US,” the source said. “That’s not sustainable if we’re going to have a single market and investment. Europe has less 4G mobile broadband than Africa at the moment.”

“Consolidation is not the aim. The aim is a single market, but if it means we get fewer, stronger operators, that’s good.”
...
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The UK is fortunate in having a really competitive mobile phone market (even with the EE merger). This is gonna be short lived I feel.

edit:

The other possible consequence I can see is that all of the large mobile phone companies set up in Luxembourg, and export mobile services. With only 15% VAT why wouldn't you?
 
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The 15% VAT is nothing to do with setting up in Luxembourg. Companies choose to pass VAT on the customer. It's the lower Corporation tax they'd be looking to take advantage of.
 
muon said:
They do not exist in every EU country. Being in a a few countries of 27 member states is no good. This ruling applies everywhere in the EU.

AT&T and Verizon operate in all of the US states. That is what will have to happen.

We will end up with a few operators. Three and other "small" operators will be screwed.

The European mobile market will become one massive oligopoly with high tariffs like in the US.

You can see here how much the likes of Vodafone will have to expand to cover the EU.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-to-end-mobile-roaming-charges-next-year.html
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Are you just making random stuff up? Here is Three calling for the EU to force far cheaper roaming costs.

Roaming costs are high in Europe because mobile companies gouge each other for using each others networks and then 'pass' this onto their customers. Hell a lot of the time it can be a sister company gouging each other but it's the customer that gets screwed.

The providers will just make up the lost revenue by charging us more at home so in actual fact the poorer will pay more and the richer less...
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Actually it will just stop the 'rich'(£50 can get you to the other side of Europe...) subsidizing the 'poor' as the roaming costs in no way reflect the cost of providing the service.
 
Roaming has a bit more cost to it than that (fixing the interlinks, CAMEL is a pig to work with, billing correctly) but in general this will likely result in some consolidation but not a lot. UK won't change a bit, we have all the big fish here and they arn't going anywhere.

Technically speaking there isn't much difference roaming in one country from another, you just have to use their internet link due to national laws etc..
 
Owenb said:
Are you just making random stuff up? Here is Three calling for the EU to force far cheaper roaming costs.

Roaming costs are high in Europe because mobile companies gouge each other for using each others networks and then 'pass' this onto their customers. Hell a lot of the time it can be a sister company gouging each other but it's the customer that gets screwed.


Actually it will just stop the 'rich'(£50 can get you to the other side of Europe...) subsidizing the 'poor' as the roaming costs in no way reflect the cost of providing the service.
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There are two aspects to this. One is the roaming charges faced by operators such as three and then there are roaming charges that are charged to customers.

You think three would be happy with having to offer their unlimited (or generous) tariffs abroad whilst still having to pay 5c per MB to the foreign operator?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission_roaming_regulations#Common_limits
 
englishpremier said:
The 15% VAT is nothing to do with setting up in Luxembourg. Companies choose to pass VAT on the customer. It's the lower Corporation tax they'd be looking to take advantage of.
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They can charge lower prices with only 15% VAT.

A UK operating company will have £25+20%=£30 whilst it will only be £28.75 from Luxembourg. Who will get the most custom?

You may be right about corporation tax being a bigger issue though. I don't know what it is in Luxembourg.

edit:

Doesn't seem particularly low does it?

http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom.../2013/lu_en_wp_corporatetaxguide_14012013.pdf
 
muon said:
There are two aspects to this. One is the roaming charges faced by operators such as three and then there are roaming charges that are charged to customers.

You think three would be happy with having to offer their unlimited (or generous) tariffs abroad whilst still having to pay 5c per MB to the foreign operator?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission_roaming_regulations#Common_limits
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Yes because they would have reciprocal agreements with those foreign operators, and/or a contra payment would be made. It's not like members of other EU states won't be visiting the UK and using their phones here.
 
englishpremier said:
Yes because they would have reciprocal agreements with those foreign operators, and/or a contra payment would be made. It's not like members of other EU states won't be visiting the UK and using their phones here.
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Reciprocal agreements? It'll be on a pay as you use basis operator to operator. How much will they charge each other? Exactly the amount the EU is allowing given that they used to charge each other much more before the cap.

5c/MB = 25 EUR / 500MB. Unlimited tariffs will be unsustainable at those rates.

They could have reciprocal use rules domestically and yet we have mobile termination rates. Why would you make such an agreement if you are a big player?

An operator that has spent billions on it's network isn't going to have a reciprocal unlimited use agreement with someone that has spent a fraction of that or less.

It will definitely lead to consolidation of networks. That is exactly what the EU wants.

...
“There are around 100 operators in Europe and only four in the US,” the source said. “That’s not sustainable if we’re going to have a single market and investment. Europe has less 4G mobile broadband than Africa at the moment.”

“Consolidation is not the aim. The aim is a single market, but if it means we get fewer, stronger operators, that’s good.”
...
Click to expand...

Fewer stronger operators being good is a joke. That is exactly what we have been moving away from in the UK. Be that the internet, telephony, gas and electricity etc.
 
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