Enemies of the state?

Lord Lucas, member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Communications, sums up the issues of data roaming, mobile termination rate regulation and a potential single European telecoms market: "There is always too much to say”.

ertainly the issues are complex, and only more so because of the stark opposition of the parties involved; their opinions, needs and interests on either side of a very high and very long fence.

In the red corner, apparently representing free cross-border trade and the masses, is of course EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding, who warned networks sharply she would impose price regulation on roaming traffic if they failed to introduce transparent, fair pricing.

Reding's deadline has been and gone. So far she has announced the European Commission will impose SMS roaming price caps at the end of the Summer, in the same fashion as voice roaming caps were introduced a year ago.

But she has relented somewhat on data, concluding that more research needs to be done before drastic measures are taken.

This event gives the most outspoken of the interested parties a forum to air their views on Reding’s proposals, before an audience comprising prominent members of networks, government, regulators and telecoms investors.

In other words, in the blue corner, big business is well represented on the stage and on the floor. 

Full version of article appears in Mobile News issue 420 (August 11, 2008).

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