Arlene McCarthy said "calling prices have begun to fall dramatically, and the threat of regulation is seeing charges for data and text use being cut by many operators."
"I am extremely concerned that reports show some mobile operators have been clawing back their excess profits by switching to charging by whole minutes, even for a call lasting a few seconds. The British regulator OFCOM has dubbed this the "hidden 20% charge" and I know consumers across Europe will find this kind of tactic unacceptable."
Arlene McCarthy added "I hope any operators engaged in this practice think again, and I want to make sure that cuts announced in text and data charges are passed on to the consumer, as they should be in a competitive market. I have met with many smaller operators that are concerned that the prices they are charged by the big incumbents limit their ability to give the consumer a better deal. I have therefore written to the Commission and regulators asking them to take action".
The European Parliament is currently reviewing Commission proposals affecting the telecoms market across the board. Arlene said "strong competition and fair pricing is in the long term interest of businesses and consumers, but there is always a risk that dominant players will seek a short term advantage. That is why we had to take action on the roaming regulation. It would be better if the industry voluntarily gave customers a better deal. It's clear many operators are getting this message, but until consumers across Europe are getting a fair deal the European Parliament will consider all options necessary."
Notes to editors:
1.Copies of the letters are available on request.
2.The PES Group in the European Parliament (which includes the UK Labour party) will be holding a hearing into the telecoms review from 9:00 on Thursday 14 February.
For more information please call the European Parliamentary Labour Party press officer, Silke Thomson on +32 479 790 053.
