INTERNATIONAL ROAMING RATES HIGH: ACCC

Written by Adam Gosling

Thursday, 15 September 2005

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued its Final Report into mobile international roaming rates and has expressed concerns about the charges being levied. While admitting that the biggest determining factor in the setting of international roaming prices is determined by overseas carriers beyond its regulatory control, the ACCC said that the prices “appear to be very high”. "The ACCC's Final Report expresses concerns that prices for international roaming services appear to be very high – especially as compared to charges set for other mobile telephone services", an ACCC Commissioner, Ed Willett, said. "The inquiry also found that the most significant factor in the setting of retail prices paid by Australian travellers for international roaming services are the wholesale charges set by overseas mobile network operators when consumers roam onto their networks. The ACCC intends to monitor the average prices paid by Australian consumers for international roaming services as part of its annual report to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, and liaise with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to discuss appropriate measures for improving consumer information in the market. It also noted that the wholesale charges set by overseas mobile network operators has "attracted attention in a number of international regulatory forums". "That said, the Final Report does observe that competition in the retail market for international roaming services appears to be improving, with the increased availability of substitute services for consumers. These include prepaid international calling cards, SIM cards and mobile phone rentals. "Further, the ACCC believes that market developments may drive greater price competition among mobile operators and improve price transparency and simplicity for end-users. These developments include advancements in technology that have allowed subscribers to select the network they roam on to, innovative pricing practices by carriers (such as "flat rates" for world geographical zones), and new entrants in the wholesale roaming market. The ACCC plans to assist Australian consumer to make more informed choices by keeping them informed of their options. "The ACCC will also seek to find opportunities to assist these forums in their consideration of co-ordinated measures that could be undertaken by regulatory authorities to address concerns in relation to the provision of international roaming services". http://www.accc.gov.au/ Related news items Tiny Rugged UMPC WIth Vista -10/10/2007 Consumers Want FMC: Companies Don't See The Benefit -02/10/2007 Nokia Buys Map Company For US$8 Billion -02/10/2007 Seven In Unwired Takeover Bid -26/09/2007 Nokia E51: Smarter Than It Looks -19/09/2007 Newer news items VODAFONE 3G AFTER HALOWEEN -16/10/2005 DRAFT CREDIT MANAGEMENT CODE -09/10/2005 TXT HACKERS COULD CRASH CELL NETWORKS -06/10/2005 VODAFONE TARGET’S OVER 35’s -29/09/2005 OPTUS MAY BUY BRANSON'S VIRGIN SHARE -29/09/2005 Older news items MOBILE PHONE INDUSTRY EDGES $10 BILLION -13/09/2005 740M MOBILE USERS IN ASIA -13/09/2005 MOBILE LEADERS TO ADDRESS CONFERENCE -12/09/2005 TELSTRA 3G LAUNCHES -04/09/2005 INTEL INVESTS IN UNWIRED -24/08/2005 Tag This Now: