European politicians have agreed a final proposal to scrap mobile phone roaming charges and adopt new rules on “net neutrality”, after a late-night meeting in Brussels that brought months of negotiations to an end.
Roaming fees will stop in June 2017, although customers will still be subject to “fair use” rules when making calls or using data in other countries. Politicians also agreed rules on net neutrality, the principle that internet traffic should be treated equally.
Unlike rules imposed in the US, the EU measures will allow telecoms groups to offer faster connections for “specialised services”, including internet television, provided they do not hinder other users. Telecoms groups are expected to welcome the concession.
Critical
Consumer groups were critical of the move, which was backed by national governments, many of which still have stakes in telecoms groups. “What Europe is essentially saying here is that all internet data are born equal, but some is more equal than others,” said Monique Goyens, director-general of the consumer rights group European Consumer Organisation.
Others pointed out that there is no definition of what amounts to a specialised service, which lawmakers envisage could range from television to self-driving cars in future.
Netflix said: “We’re disappointed by the . . . proposal as it steps back from providing strong protections to open internet principles. We hope there will be improvement over the coming months.”
Bad-tempered
Monday’s “trilogue” meeting between member states, the European parliament and the commission was the culmination of three years of often bad-tempered wrangling between the parties.
A final text of the agreement will be sent to the European parliament and member states before becoming law. Günther Oettinger, the German commissioner who oversees part of digital policy, welcomed the proposals on net neutrality.
“It is a quality standard for everybody,” he said. “It cannot be changed or undermined by national legislation.”
As an interim measure from 2016, roaming fees will be capped at five cents per megabyte for mobile data, five cents per minute for calls and two cents per SMS message.
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015
