GSMA opposes EU’s text legislation proposal

Global trade group the GSM Association has issued its response to EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding's plans [1] to cut the costs of cross-border text messages by more than 50 percent. According to the EU proposal, cross-border text fees would drop from their current 29 cents average (46 cents U.S.) to between 11 and 15 cents (17 to 23 cents U.S.). But the GSMA counters that the average price of SMS roaming services in the EU has declined by 18 percent in the last year, citing the introduction of flat-fee bundled text pricing. The group also argues that many operators are already reducing their SMS roaming charges by cutting standard rates, highlighting recent pricing moves by Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange and Telefonica. In addition, the GSMA argues that operators are making their data roaming prices more transparent to consumers.

"The Commission's proposals to single out yet another aspect of the mobile industry and apply retail price regulation, threatens to choke growth and stifle competition," said GSMA chief government and regulatory affairs officer Tom Phillips in a prepared statement. "The Commission's fixation with regulating common mobile prices across the EU is widespread. Different markets have inherently different costs, whether from variations in tax or, for example, labor rates. These services should be priced based on local market conditions, not on some vision of a single Europe."

For more on the GSMA's response:
- read this release [2]

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EU [3] to launch investigation into ringtone site