EU to cap price of phone calls and text messages between member states

Lawmakers agreed to cap the price of phone calls and SMS messages between EU countries and sealed a deal to encourage investment in fast internet networks, Euractiv reports.

The European Parliament scored a victory after months of heated negotiations as the European Commission and national diplomats agreed to limit the price of phone calls between EU countries to 19 cents per minute. Text messages will be capped at 6 cents per SMS for consumers within the bloc.

Andrus Ansip, the Commission Vice-President in charge of digital single market files, called the agreement “essential to meet Europeans’ growing connectivity needs and boost Europe’s competitiveness”.

– We are laying the groundwork for the deployment of 5G across Europe – Ansip said.

The price cap on so-called intra-EU calls and text messages was not part of the original proposal that the Commission announced in September 2016. Instead, the issue became a contentious negotiating chip later on when MEPs insisted on the change as discussions heated up last year.
Ansip came out as a fierce opponent to regulating the price of those calls and messages, arguing that it is useless to regulate the price of traditional telecoms services between EU countries because consumers are increasingly turning to digital apps like WhatsApp to call and message abroad.

Telecoms companies have argued that both the roaming regulation and the plan to cap international call rates are harsh moves that could slash their revenues.

The Commission inserted a clause in the final deal that will give national telecoms regulators the ability to exempt companies from applying the price cap if they can prove that it would cripple their business. Sources close to the file said that Wednesday’s outcome will mean that prices will not change in some countries where the rate of calls between EU countries is already very low.

While the controversial price cap on calls and texts between EU countries took centre stage in the final stretch of negotiations, the legislation also introduces a measure aimed at encouraging telecoms operators to invest more money in building fast internet networks. Under the new law, telecoms companies can be relieved of some regulation if they agree to invest in a “new very high capacity network” with competing operators.

The Commission has heralded the deal as a way to increase the speed and coverage of telecoms networks across the bloc, and to create more competition between carriers. The strategy is part of the Commission’s plan to force companies to invest more money into speeding up the EU’s aging telecoms infrastructure. Around EUR 500 billion in investment is needed to meet the bloc’s internet speed targets, according to the EU executive’s estimates.

As part of its original proposal, the Commission set the goal of making sure the entire bloc has fast internet connections of 100 megabits per second by 2025. Schools, hospitals, public authorities and transport hubs should have even faster gigabit-speed connections by that time.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Bruxelles

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