37 Amendments of Kathleen VAN BREMPT related to 2011/0187(COD)
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 a (new)
Recital 1 a (new)
(1a) The objective of reducing the difference between national and roaming tariffs so as to approach zero by 2015 was proposed by the Commission in the Benchmarking Framework 2011- 2015 and subsequently endorsed by the EU Member States in November 20091. This target is also included in the Commission Communication "A Digital Agenda for Europe"2. __________________ 1 http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/ee urope/i2010/docs/benchmarking/benchma rking_digital_europe_2011-2015.pdf 2 Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions "A Digital Agenda for Europe" (COM(2010) 245.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 b (new)
Recital 1 b (new)
(1b) A single telecoms market cannot be said to exist while significant price differences exist between domestic and roaming prices; therefore the ultimate aim should be to eliminate roaming charges altogether, thus establishing a pan-EU mobile communications market.
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. This Regulation introduces a common approach to ensuringbring about a truly single market in mobile communications. The first step is to put in place an interim period to ensure that users of public mobile communications networks when travelling within the Union do not pay excessive prices for Union-wide roaming services in comparison with competitive national prices, when making calls and receiving calls, when sending and receiving SMS messages and when using packet switched data communication services, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection, fostering competition and transparency in the market and offering both incentives for innovation and consumer choice. The second step is to put in place the necessary measures which would make it possible to abolish the concept of roaming within the EU altogether, ensuring identical prices throughout the EU.
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
It lays down rules to guarantee the separate sale of roaming services from domestic mobile communications services and the conditions for wholesale access to public mobile telephone networks for the purpose of provision of roaming services. It also lays down transitory rules on the charges that may be levied by mobile operators for the provision of Union-wide roaming services for voice calls and SMS messages originating and terminating within the Union and for packet switched data communication services used by roaming customers while roaming on a mobile communications network in another Member State. It applies both to charges levied between network operators at wholesale level and to charges levied by home providers at retail level.
Amendment 119 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2
Article 1 – paragraph 2
2. This Regulation also lays down rules aimed at increasing price transparency and improving the provision of information on charges to users of Union-wide roaming services both within and outside the Union.
Amendment 123 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point m
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point m
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point o
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point o
Amendment 151 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4
Article 4
Amendment 180 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a (new)
Article 4 a With effect from 1 July 2014, the retail prices for calls, SMS and data use shall be identical, irrespective of whether the customer is roaming or not. Until 30 June 2014, the retail price caps as prescribed by Articles 7, 9 and 12 shall have effect.
Amendment 181 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5
Article 5
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
2. The retail charge (excluding VAT) of a Eurotariff which a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for the provision of a regulated roaming call may vary for any roaming call but shall not exceed EUR 0,320 per minute for any call made or EUR 0,1104 per minute for any call received as of 1 July 2012 . The price ceiling for calls made shall decrease to EUR 0,2815 and EUR 0,2410 on 1 July 2013 and on 1 Julanuary 2014 respectively, and for calls received to EUR 0,103 on 1 July 2013 . Without prejudice to Articles 13 and 19 tThese regulated maximum retail charges for the Eurotariff shall remain valid until 30 June 20164 when price differentiation between domestic and roaming calls will no longer be possible.
Amendment 252 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
2. With effect from 1 July 2012 , the retail charge (excluding VAT) of a Euro-SMS tariff which a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for a regulated roaming SMS message sent by that roaming customer may vary for any roaming SMS message but shall not exceed EUR 0,10 . Without prejudice to Articles 13 and 19, t07. The price ceiling shall decrease to 0,06 on 1 July 2013 and to 0,05 on 1 January 2014.The regulated maximum retail charge for the Euro-SMS tariff shall remain at EUR 0,105 until 30 June 20164 when price differentiation between domestic and roaming SMS messages will no longer be possible.
Amendment 283 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. Roaming providers shall make available to all their roaming customers, clearly and transparently, a Euro-data tariff as provided for in paragraph 2. This Euro-data tariff shall not entail any associated subscription or other fixed or recurring charges and may be combined with any retail tariff. The Euro-data tariff shall encompass the concept of net neutrality in respect for all data use, in particular access to VOIP and other similar services.
Amendment 284 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
2. With effect from 1 July 2012, the retail charge (excluding VAT) of a Euro-data tariff which a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for the provision of a regulated roaming data shall not exceed EUR 0,950 per megabyte. The price ceiling for data used shall decrease to EUR 0,730 and EUR 0,520, per megabyte used on 1 July 2013 and on 1 Julanuary 2014 respectively. Without prejudice to Articles 13 and 19, tThe regulated maximum retail charge shall remain at EUR 0,520, per megabyte used until 30 June 20164 when price differentiation between domestic and roaming data will no longer be possible.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
2. With effect from 1 July 2012, the retail charge (excluding VAT) of a Euro-data tariff which a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for the provision of a regulated roaming data shall not exceed EUR 0,950 per megabyte. The price ceiling for data used shall decrease to EUR 0,730 and EUR 0,520, per megabyte used on 1 July 2013 and on 1 July 2014 respectively. Without prejudice to Articles 13 and 19, the regulated maximum retail charge shall remain at EUR 0,520, per megabyte used until 30 June 2016. Home providers shall not be allowed to charge roaming customers extra for their use of applications or services such as VOIP.
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13
Article 13
Amendment 313 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – title
Article 14 – title
Transparency of retail charges for regulated roaming calls and SMS messages
Amendment 316 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. To alert a roaming customer to the fact that he will be subject to roaming charges when making or receiving a call or when sending an SMS message, each home provider shall, except when the customer is at least 18 years old and has notified his home provider that he does not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when he enters a Member Statecountry other than that of his home network, with basic personalised pricing information on the roaming charges (including VAT) that apply to the making and receiving of calls and to the sending of SMS messages by that customer in the visited Member Statecountry.
Amendment 318 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point b
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 – point b
(b) sending regulated roaming SMS messages while in the visited Member Statecountry.
Amendment 319 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4
Article 14 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 4
On the occasion of each message, a customer who is at least 18 years old shall have the opportunity to give notice to home provider, free of charge and in an easy manner, that he does not require the automatic Message Service. A customer who has given notice that he does not require the automatic Message Service shall have the right at any time and free of charge to require the home provider to provide the service again.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 1
1. Home providers shall ensure that their roaming customers, both before and after the conclusion of a contract, are kept adequately informed of the charges which apply to their use of regulated data roaming services, both inside and outside the Union, in ways which facilitate customers' understanding of the financial consequences of such use and permit them to monitor and control their expenditure on regulated data roaming services in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3. The safeguard mechanisms referred to in paragraph 3 shall not apply to pre-paid customers that use pre-paid services without automatic top-ups.
Amendment 331 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2
Amendment 334 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1
2. An automatic message from the home provider shall inform the roaming customer that he is roaming and provide basic personalised tariff information on the charges applicable to the provision of regulated data roaming services to that roaming customer in the Member State concerned, except where the customer who is at least 18 years old has notified his home provider that he does not require this information.
Amendment 337 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2
Such basic personalised tariff information shall be delivered to the roaming customer's mobile telephone or other device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the computer, every time the roaming customer enters a Member Statecountry other than that of his home network and initiates for the first time a regulated data roaming service in that particular Member Statecountry. It shall be provided free of charge at the moment the roaming customer initiates a regulated data roaming service, by an appropriate means adapted to facilitate its receipt and easy comprehension.
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1
3. Each home provider shall grant to all their roaming customers the opportunity to opt deliberately and free of charge for a facility which provides information on the accumulated consumption expressed in volume or in the currency in which the roaming customer is billed for regulated data roaming services provided both inside and outside the Union and which guarantees that, without the customer's explicit consent, the accumulated expenditure for regulated data roaming services over a specified period of use does not exceed a specified financial limit.
Amendment 339 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 2
To this end, the home provider shall make available one or more maximum financial limits for specified periods of use, provided that the customer who is at least 18 years old is informed in advance of the corresponding volume amounts. One of these limits (the default financial limit) shall be close to, but not exceed, EUR 50 of outstanding charges per monthly billing period (excluding VAT). For customers younger than 18 years the limit shall be close to, but not exceed, EUR 20 of outstanding charges per monthly billing period (excluding VAT).
Amendment 340 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 3
Alternatively, the home provider may establish limits expressed in volume, provided that the customer who is at least 18 years old is informed in advance of the corresponding financial amounts. One of these limits (the default volume limit) shall have a corresponding financial amount not exceeding EUR 50 of outstanding charges per monthly billing period (excluding VAT). For customers younger than 18 years the limit shall be close to, but not exceed, EUR 20 of outstanding charges per monthly billing period (excluding VAT).
Amendment 341 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 6
Article 15 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 6
Each home provider shall also ensure that an appropriate notification is sent to the roaming customer's mobile telephone or other device, for example by an SMS message, an e-mail or a pop-up window on the computer, when the data roaming services have reached 50% and 80 % of the agreed financial or volume limit. Customers who are at least 18 years old shall have the right to require their operators to stop sending such notifications and shall have the right at any time and free of charge to require the home provider to provide the service again.
Amendment 342 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a (new)
Article 15 a Price comparison Any price information about retail voice, SMS and data roaming services to customers shall include VAT. The Commission shall also investigate transparency and comparability of different tariffs proposed by operators to their customers, and report back to the European Parliament and the Council on further measures necessary to ensure that consumers can easily compare these tariffs, and thus make it easier to take a decision to switch from one operator to another.
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The Commission shall review the functioning of this RegIn order to bring about the necessary changes for a single market in mobile phone communications, as required in Article 4a, the Commission, after consultation and, after a public consultationwith BEREC and other relevant stakeholders, shall preportsent a new proposal to the European Parliament and the Council no later than 30 June 2015 . The Commission shall evaluate in particular whether the objectives of this Regulation have been achieved. In so doing, the Commission shall review, inter aliaby 1 January 2013 at the latest, which should also include a proposal to update the wholesale caps for the period between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2020 taking into account the developments in wholesale charges for the provision of voice, SMS and data communication services:
Amendment 348 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 1
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 2
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 2
Amendment 350 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 3
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 3
Amendment 352 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 4
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 4
Amendment 353 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 5
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 5
Amendment 357 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2