Activities of Francesco DE ANGELIS related to 2011/0187(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (debate)
Amendments (26)
Amendment 59 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 1 a (new)
Recital 1 a (new)
Amendment 62 #
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 77 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) In order to allow for the development of a more efficient and competitive market for roaming services, there should be no restrictions that prevent undertakings from effectively negotiating wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services. However, at present there are obstacles to the access to such wholesale roaming services, due to differences in negotiating power and in the degree of infrastructure ownership of undertakings. The removal of these obstacles would facilitate the development of alternative and innovative roaming services and offers for customers, in particular from virtual network operators. It would also facilitate the development of pan-European services. The rules of the Electronic Communication Framework, in particular Directive 2002/21/EC and Directive 2002/19/EC, do not allow this problem to be addressed via the imposition of obligations on operators having significant market powers.
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 19
Recital 19
(19) Therefore rules should be introduced to mandate the obligation to meet reasonable requests, at non-discriminatory conditions, for wholesale access to public mobile communications networks for the purpose of providing roaming services, also by way of derogation from Directives 2002/21/EC and 2002/19/EC. Such requests should only be refused on the basis of objective and duly substantiated criteria, which should be determined on a case by case basis by the national regulatory authorities following the dispute resolution procedure referred to in Article 17. In order to ensure a level playing field, wholesale access for the purpose of providing roaming services should be granted in accordance with the regulatory obligations laid down in this Regulation applicable at the wholesale level and should take into account the different cost elements necessary for the provision of such access. A consistent regulatory approach to the wholesale access for the provision of roaming services would avoid distortions between Member States.
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) A wholesale roaming access obligation should cover, at non- discriminatory conditions, access to all the elements and facilities necessary to enable the provision of roaming services, also by way of derogation from Directive 2002/19/EC, such as the following elements: access to network elements and associated facilities; access to relevant software systems including operational support systems; access to information systems or databases for pre- ordering, provisioning, ordering, maintaining and repair requests, and billing; access to number translation or systems offering equivalent functionality; access to mobile networks, and access to virtual network services.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) It is considered that for the separate sale of roaming services to be fully effective, it needs to be combined with the wholesale access obligation for the provision of roaming services to facilitate market entry by new or existing players including cross-border roaming services providers. This solution will avoid distortions between Member States by ensuring a consistent regulatory approach thereby contributing to the development of the single market. However, this solution in roaming services will require a reasonable period for operators to adapt at the technical level, and therefore will only result in a genuine internal market with sufficient competition after a certain period of time. For this reason, price caps for the wholesale charges for voice, SMS messages and data roaming services as well as safeguard caps for those service at the retail level should be maintained on a temporary basis at an appropriate level to ensure that the existing consumer benefits are preserved during a transitional period of implementation of such structural solutions, after which they could be removed. For the same reason, the obligation of separate sale of roaming services should refer, for the first 12 months of effectiveness, only to mobile virtual network operators.
Amendment 97 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) The transitory Eurotariff to be offered to roaming customers should reflect a reasonable margin over the wholesale cost of providing a roaming service, whilst allowing operators the freedom to compete by differentiating their offerings and adapting their pricing structures to market conditions and consumer preferences. Such safeguard caps should be set at levels which do not distort the competitivmaximize the competitive outcome of the structural solution at the benefits of structural solutions andconsumers; therefore the retail caps should be set at a level which is three times the wholesale caps in order to allow enough room to attract new players in the new roaming market. The caps could be removed once the structural solutions have had an opportunity to deliver concrete gains for customers. This regulatory approach should not apply to value added services.
Amendment 117 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – subparagraph 2 a (new)
The separate sale of roaming services from domestic mobile communications services is a temporary and intermediate step to increase competition so as to lower roaming prices for customers in order to achieve a common European mobile market with no differentiation between national and roaming tariffs.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point o a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 – point o a (new)
(oa) 'Single tariff' means a tariff which all operators are obliged to offer, which offers identical prices for call, SMS and data use within the Union, irrespective of whether the customer is roaming or not;
Amendment 140 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1
Article 3 – paragraph 1
1. Mobile network operators shall meet all reasonable requests for wholesale roaming access, including those from mobile virtual network operators and resellers. Mobile virtual network operators shall be granted the same favourable conditions applied to other network operators, on non- discriminatory terms. Rules on regulated wholesale roaming tariffs laid down in Articles 6, 8 and 11 shall apply for the provision of wholesale roaming access.
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 2
Article 3 – paragraph 2
2. Wholesale roaming access shall cover, at non-discriminatory conditions, access to all network elements and associated facilities, relevant services, software and information systems, necessary for the provision of roaming services to customers, also in derogation to Directive 2002/19/EC.
Amendment 157 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. With effect from 1 Julanuary 2014, home providers shall inform all their roaming customers of the possibility to unsubscribe from their existing roaming services and to opt for roaming services from an alternative virtual roaming provider, and from 1 January 2015 from any alternative virtual roaming provider. The roaming customers shall be given a period of two months within which to make their choice known to their home provider. Roaming customers who have not expressed their choice within that period shall have the right to opt for an alternative roaming provider at any moment, in line with paragraphs 3 and 4.
Amendment 185 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
In order to ensure the development of the singletemporarily single roaming market, implementation of the technical solutions for the facility of separate sale of roaming services shall take place simultaneously across the Union and meet the following criteria: a) any technical solution must be cost- effective; b) it shall be designed in a consumer- friendly way; c) it shall allow for a maximum degree of interoperability; d) it shall allow for a local break-out solution for data usage in a consumer- friendly manner; e) it shall ensure that the concept of net neutrality is respected for all data use, in particular access to VOIP and other similar services; f) end-users shall be able to easily and quickly switch to an alternative roaming provider or between alternative roaming providers while retaining their mobile number; g) roaming by EU citizens in third countries or by third country citizens in the EU shall not be impeded.
Amendment 190 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
For the purpose of separate sale of roaming services, operators shall make sure that facilities meeting the requirements set out in paragraph 1 are in place by 1 July 2014 at the latest, to ensure that the customer can use domestic mobile services and separate roaming services offered by an alternative roaming operator while keeping their mobile number. In order to enable the separate sale of roaming services, operators may in particular allow the use of a ‘EU roaming profile’ on the same SIM card and the use of the same terminal alongside domestic mobile services. Pricing for interconnection related to the provision of this facilityPricing for interconnections shall be cost-orientated and there should be no direct charges to consumers for the use of this facility.
Amendment 199 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 3
Article 5 – paragraph 3
BEREC, after consulting stakeholders and in close co-operation with the Commission, shall lay down, within a reasonable period of time not exceeding three months after the adoption of this Regulation, guidelines with regard to harmonised technical solutions relating to the facility for separate roaming services and to harmonised procedures to change the provider of roaming services. The harmonised technical solutions shall meet the requirements set out in paragraph 1. Upon a reasoned request from the BEREC, the Commission may extend that period.
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 304 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 a (new)
Article 12 a (new)
Article 12 a Single Tariff With effect from 1 July 2015, in addition to their existing tariffs, providers who offer both national and roaming communications shall make available and publicise to all their customers a single tariff for calls, SMS and data use, which shall offer identical prices, irrespective of whether the consumer is roaming or not. The single tariff shall not exceed the price limits set out in Articles 7(2), 9(2) and 12(2).
Amendment 307 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 2
Article 13 – paragraph 2
2. If, after 30 June 2018, the average wholesale charge for one of the roaming services (voice, SMS or data) for unbalanced traffic between operators that do not belong to the same group falls to 75% or less of the maximum wholesale charges provided for in Articles 6(2), 8(1) and 11(1) in at least 75% of the Member States, the maximum wholesale charges for the roaming service concerned shall no longer apply. The Commission shall regularly verify, on the basis of the market data collected by BEREC, whether this condition is met and, if so, it shall publish without delay in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union the data proving that the maximum wholesale charges no longer apply for the service concerned.
Amendment 310 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 13 – paragraph 3
Article 13 – paragraph 3
3. If, following the implementation of the separate sale of roaming services referred to in Article 5 and before 1 July 2016, the average retail charge at the Union level falls to 75% or less of the maximum retail charges provided for in Articles 7(2), 9(2) and 12(2), the maximum retail charges for that roaming services shall no longer apply. ThThe maximum retail charges provided for in Articles 7(2), 9(2) and 12(2) shall no longer apply once a true single market in mobile Ccommission shall regularly veunications with one single tarifyf, on the basis of the market data collected by BEREC, whetherprohibiting discriminatory pricing between domestic and EU communications is in place. Once this condition is met and, if so, itthe Commission shall publish without delay in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union the data proving that the maximum retail charges no longer apply for the service concerned.
Amendment 324 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 14 – paragraph 3 a (new)
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 343 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Article 18 – paragraph 1
Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. They shall include an obligation to compensate subscribers when providers delay or hinder a subscriber's switch to an alternative roaming provider. Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission no later than 30 March 2012 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Amendment 347 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 1
– the developments in wholesale and retail charges for the provision to roaming customers of voice, SMS and data communication services, and the corresponding development inin comparison to the charges for mobile communications services at domestic level in the Member States, both for pre-paid and post-paid customers separately, and in the quality and speed of these services;
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 3
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 3
– the extent to which consumers have benefited through realfrom reductions in the price of roaming services or in other ways from reductions in the costs of the provision of roamingcosts of the mobile communication services and the variety of tariffs and products which are available to consumers with different calling patterns;
Amendment 354 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 5
Article 19 – paragraph 1 – indent 5
– the extent to which the structural solutions foreseen in Articles 3 and 4 have produced results in developing competition in the roaming market so as to entail one single tariff.
Amendment 358 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 19 – paragraph 2
Article 19 – paragraph 2
2. If the report shows that the structural measures provided for by the present Regulation are not sufficient to promote competition in the roaming market for the benefit of European consumers so as to entail one single tariff, the Commission shall make appropriate proposals to the European Parliament and the Council to address this situation. The Commission shall examine, in particular, whether it is necessary to modify the structural measures or to extend the duration of any of the maximum retail charges foreseen in Articles 7, 9 and 12. bring about the technical and structural changes necessary for a true single market in mobile communications which would entail one single tariff, prohibiting discriminatory pricing between domestic and EU communications.