International roaming - update Oftel LBUP - January 2002

Findings from the MMR Lack of competitive pressure on roaming prices –Contract prices not out of line with the rest of Europe, but are prices elsewhere competitive? –More recent evidence suggests that UK pre-pay prices are some of the highest to be found in Europe Scale of roaming charges (up to £1.50 per min for incoming calls) suggests that “operators are exploiting a lack of consumer awareness of roaming prices” Solution?

Appropriate regulatory response Retail price cap –not justified on outgoing services as a whole, hard to justify retail price cap on specific services Wholesale price control –raises issues of access to mobile networks, (additional access obligations are not justified) plus, need other MS to take action Address consumer awareness –appears to be a worthwhile line to pursue

Increasing consumer awareness Oftel has benchmarks for consumer awareness and consumer behaviour Raising consumer awareness via the press: –DGComp dawn raids, MMR press releases, Oftel initiative on consumer awareness of pre-pay prices, more planned.. –consumer awareness is increasing need to see whether consumer behaviour changes and prices come down! if not, need to think more about appropreate regulation –discussing with other NRAs in the context of the new EU Directives

What next? More initiatives planned –Started work with the ODTR, joint study on consumer awareness, consumer behaviour and options for consumers to save money on roaming between UK and Ireland

What about medium/large businesses? What is your experience negotiating roaming rates? Could you share information with us? –do you have a breakdown of your spend on international roaming? –would you be interested in a study of what your employees would be prepared to do to cut your roaming bill?