Wir sind wieder einen Schritt weiter auf dem Weg zum kostenlosen Roaming. Die EU-Staaten haben einen Kompromiss erzielt zu den Großhandelspreisen ("wholesale roaming caps") die die Provider sich maximal in Rechnung stellen dürfen. Die müssen ja runtergehen, soll das kostenfreie Roaming eine Chance haben. Es ist ein Absenkungsregime mit Opt-Out gefunden worden.
Quelle Telecompaper:
EU members reach compromise on wholesale roaming caps
EU member states have reached a compromise on new wholesale roaming price caps.
A reduction in wholesale rates is considered essential to support the planned end to retail roaming surcharges next year. Without lower wholesale rates, operators could raise domestic prices in order to offset the lost retail revenue. However, member states have disagreed to date on how high the wholesale charges should be, especially for data services.
A spokesman for the Slovakian presidency of the EU told Reuters that the Coreper meeting of EU state representatives agreed to a glide path in the rates. The cost of data roaming to operators would be capped at 1 eurocent per MB from June 2017 when retail charges will end, above the level of 0.85 cents per MB proposed by the European Commission. The rate would gradually fall to 0.5 cents, the rate supported by many MEPs, in June 2021 under the compromise backed by a majority of the states.
The meeting also approved a Spanish proposal that would let operators charge more than the wholesale cap in exceptional circumstances if they are unable to recover their costs. Applying a surcharge to the cap would need prior approval from regulators, and the surcharge could not take the total wholesale price over 0.85 cents per MB. This means that it would not be possible for operators to resort to the extra charges until 2019, when wholesale caps are slated to reach 0.85 cents per MB.
The agreement must still be approved by EU telecom ministers, who are scheduled to meet in early December. It must also be approved by the European Parliament before taking effect.
Original-Artikel von Reuters