info

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to review the progress made with the EU Roaming Regulation and to identify policy options from the review that the EC must now undertake.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a review of the development of the two regulations, of the market developments in the EU and beyond, and an identification of the policy and regulatory options.

Findings – The new Commission is constrained by the decision not to use a competition law approach and the lack of a robust market definition, and thus a further period of price controls seems unavoidable.

Research limitations/implications – Key documents and data are not available, making analysis of certain constraints and revenue flows between operators impossible to evaluate.

Practical implications – The EC will have to craft a new set of price controls and develop a pathway towards the use of the directives to regulate roaming charges.

Originality/value – The paper is a first attempt to identify options and constraints for the future regulation of international mobile roaming charges.