Text Messages

SMS roaming charges to be slashed, if Reding gets her way...

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:25:01 -0400

Expect to hear significant wailings from European operators if proposals being made by Viviane Reding, the European Telecoms Commissioner, move on from their present draft stage. Part of the recommendation being circulated among EU commissioners is that a cap on roaming text message be set at €0.11 -- down from today's €0.29. If this isn't enough, Reding is calling for the cost of mobile downloads to be cut from around €3 to €4 per megabyte to €1.

The likelihood of these proposals being accepted -- they first must get by the EU's 27 member countries, has improved since France, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has already indicated its support.

In 2007, European consumers spent about €800 million sending 2.5 billion text messages while roaming, with a further €560 million spent on data roaming services.

It will be the second time in the past 12 months mobile operators in the EU have faced price regulation. The EU capped prices for voice calls made abroad in June 2007, slicing revenue in the €8.5 billion a year roaming market.

For more on this story:
- go to The Times Online and MocoNews

Related articles
Cut your SMS prices--PLEASE, says French government. French SMS story
T-Mobile cuts data roaming charges. T-Mobile story

Repackaging of existing services to remain competitive - Top 5 Trends

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:10:06 -0400

With the bulk of mobile revenue still being generated by voice services, there will be increased pressure on operators to remain competitive and differentiate themselves in the marketplace. This will lead to an upsurge in the bundling--or repackaging, of services, including home zones, flat-rate options, more minutes/ text messages and discounted roaming and data download tariffs.

Cut your SMS prices--PLEASE, says French government

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:57:53 -0400

The French population is beginning to complain loudly about increasing inflation, claims the French consumer goods minister, who has reacted by asking the country's three main operators--Orange, SFR and Bouygues, to cut SMS prices that have only fallen slightly over the past four years.

The minister, Luc Chatel, has urged the three operators to be aware of the problem faced by French consumers, and has invited them to make an example by cutting the cost of text messages.

The national regulator, Arcep, has provided support to Chatel's call by stating that French consumers on pay-as-you-go phones pay an average cost of €0.12 per text. This price has remained nearly constant since 2004 while the volume of texts has doubled in this period. Of interest are the prices of SMS from France's MVNOs that cost around 25-30 per cent less than from the three main operators. This 'consumer-pleasing' initiative by Chatel comes only days after the EU announced a proposal to slash by roughly two thirds the cost of text messages for people travelling between EU countries.

For more on this story:
- go to MoCo News

Related stories:
EU to impose heavy cuts to SMS roaming charges. EU SMS story
GSMA Responds To EU Proposals To Regulate Roaming Costs For Text Messaging. GSMA story