Roaming Charges Research Articles

Regulation of international roaming data services within the EU

Europe has been the first region to intervene on the market for international roaming services. The first regulation was introduced in 2007 and has since then been revised several times. The latest revision took place in the summer 2012. This paper discusses the new legislation in view of recent market developments from a technological, economic and a regulatory perspective. The paper concludes that roaming charges have been reduced substantially since the introduction of prices caps, but still the charges are far above a level, which can be justified by the production costs. A number of alternatives to tradition roaming have been developed, but so far their impact on competition have been limited, and it will take some years before the present regulation can be lifted.

Discrimination in International Mobile Roaming Regulation: Implications of WTO Law

High international mobile roaming charges have created concerns for consumers and regulators around the world, leading to discussion and activity in a range of international organizations as well as national and regional bodies, including in the course of ongoing negotiations. Policy-makers seem inclined to intervene in the market to reduce these charges, but the complexities of international telecommunications and the way in which roaming services are supplied present a barrier to a practicable regulatory solution at the local level. Proposals for bilateral agreements have therefore emerged in some jurisdictions, often involving capping wholesale roaming charges imposed by domestic telecommunications operators on foreign telecommunications operators from particular countries on a reciprocal basis. Before concluding any such agreement, governments must ensure that they fully consider their international trade obligations, including the most-favoured nation obligation in Article II of the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services. A potential violation of this obligation could be avoided if the roaming arrangement is carefully structured to ensure that it falls within the exception for economic integration in Article V of that agreement. The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

Submission on Australia/New Zealand Draft Report on Trans-Tasman Roaming

This is a submission on the Draft Report on Trans-Tasman Roaming issued by the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the New Zealand of Business, Innovation & Employment in August 2012. The submission addresses the implications of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for entering a bilateral agreement to impose wholesale price caps on roaming charges. The submission considers the correct characterisation of roaming services under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (by mode) and highlights potential WTO problems with implementing a reciprocal agreement to cap wholesale roaming charges between Australia and New Zealand only. This question has particular significance in the context of the ongoing negotiations towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

Roaming and investments in the mobile internet market

This model discusses mobile network operators' (MNOs) incentives to invest in their network facilities such as new 4G networks under various regimes of data roaming charge regulation. Given an induced externality of investments (spillovers) due to the roaming agreements it will be shown that MNOs, competing on investments, widely set higher investments for below cost regulation of roaming charges. Otherwise, if MNOs are free to collaborate on investments, they set higher investment levels for above cost roaming charges. Both below and above cost charges may be preferred from a welfare perspective. Furthermore, the paper discusses effects of the roaming charge regulation on roaming quality and MNOs' coverage.

Nino - In His Own Words; In this Issue; The Last Page and Roaming Charges

I have no intention of listing all of Antonio Cassese�s many distinctions and achievements as one of the great international lawyers of his generation. Readers of EJIL will be familiar with all of that, and Wikipedia (a decent entry) is just one click away. It is the person behind the public figure who is of interest. One has to be personal. I met Nino for the first time in 1978. I was a young(ish) Assistant at the European University Institute. He was a Professor �down town� in Florence. Relations between the faculty at the University and the EUI on the top of the hill were frosty. At best an entente cordiale. Nino would have none of that. He embraced me and within months of my arrival invited me, first to his home, and then to contribute to a major project he was directing on Parliamentary Control of Foreign Policy. I was asked by him to write the Report on the European Communities. It was a telling moment. The late Christoph Sasse, distinguished professor of EC law from Hamburg, was indignant: �a role for a Professor, not an Assistant�. Nino had no patience for that stuff either. He really did not know me all that well and was taking a risk. But it was typical of him: reaching out, welcoming, having faith, including the young, foreigners. It galvanized me. It was, too, a lesson for life. Planting trees together, ploughing fields, building houses, jointly creating something from nothing, all bring people together as little else does. I was privileged to build two houses together with Nino. One was this Journal � EJIL. Bruno (Simma) and I had no doubt that it should be Nino we should turn to as our Italian �partner�. He embraced the project with his typical �

Lessons from ‘Bill Shock’ – Trans-Border Mobile Tariff Structures

In cases of “bill shock” customers receive invoices from hundred to tens of thousands of Euro for use of mobile broadband when abroad. The EU Roaming Regulation requires operators to protect customers by providing prices and managing their monthly spending limit. In the USA, the FCC has an inquiry into bill shock, while the governments of Australia and New Zealand have a consultation on high roaming charges. Existing consumer protection measures have proved insufficient. All members of the mobile ecosystem need to be alert to possible distortions in tariffs in which unusual and disproportionate charges can be incurred.

Editorial: The Birth of Israel and Palestine - The Ifs of History, Then and Now; Junior Faculty Forum for International Law; The Last Page and Roaming Charges; Eric Stein RIP; In this Issue

Given the promised September UN move by the Palestinian Authority it is of interest to recall some of the circumstances surrounding the birth of Israel. There are some interesting historical parallels and some differences. In public opinion and Hollywood movies, Israel was born with a UN midwife: UNGA Resolution 181, the famous Partition Resolution of 29 November 1947 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpNpueivtWQ ). The Resolution called for, inter alia, the creation of two states, the internationalization of Jerusalem and � wait for it � an economic Union within the whole territory! �De Facto Solidarity� was not, apparently, invented with the Schuman Declaration. Arab states spoke forcefully against the Resolution and, obviously, voted against it en bloc. Not only did they not recognize Israel in the sense of declining diplomatic relations � they argued the very illegitimacy of Israel as a state. In furtherance of this position, in the lawfare (only the term is new, not the praxis) that immediately erupted, Arab scholars spent much ink on dismissing any legal significance to that Resolution � essentially arguing the general non-binding nature of General Assembly resolutions. (You don�t see that argument about UNGA Resolution 181 being made too often today by the Arab protagonists in the ongoing lawfare.) Many Israeli scholars readily conceded the point. Indeed, they argued, it was not within the power of the General Assembly as such legally to sanction the creation of a new state, though, of course, the Resolution was politically very important. Israel came into being, it was argued, when it declared independence on 15 May 1948 upon termination of the British Mandate over Palestine. The birth of the new state under international law was the result, it was claimed, of the widespread and representative recognition of it by the states of the world community.

Regulatory intervention or disruptive competition? Lessons from East Africa on the end of international mobile roaming charges

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the conditions that enabled the end of roaming charges in East Africa in 2006, achieving in weeks what European regulators had struggled with for nearly a decade. To do so it aims to explore the factors that drove marginalized operator Zain to seize the competitive advantage created by it having licenses in three adjoining markets.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on the theory of disruptive competition and innovation pioneered by Clayton Christensen to explain the innovative and disruptive nature of the Zain business model. It is drawn on to explain why, despite Zain being unable ultimately to dominate its competitors, it had a sustained disruptive effect on the entire market. This provides a theoretical lens through which to view the empirical evidence acquired through in‐depth interviews and market analysis. This is used to develop a detailed case study on the dropping of roaming charges in East Africa.FindingsThe case study demonstrates the importance of an enabling policy and regulatory environment, which allowed operators to integrate historically separate national networks into cross‐border operations, undermining roaming markets in the region and ending roaming charges in East Africa forever. With the high price of communications in East Africa and the premium charges placed on international mobile roaming, the effect of this move was to compel other regional operators to follow suit, and further, to institute various other pricing strategies in an attempt to retain or recover their dominant positions. As a result, not only did roaming charges disappear across major networks, but the prices of various other mobile services also fell as subscriber numbers soared.Research limitations/implicationsResearch in this area is severely constrained by the inability to access pricing, traffic and revenue data from operators that is regarded as competitively sensitive. As a result it is often difficult to assess the immediate gains and losses of competitors and failure to get consistent data over time, the ability to assess lags and long‐term positions. A longer term review of the impact of these developments on pricing and the dynamics of the East African market in future would provide valuable insight into the longer term effects of these developments.Practical implicationsAs policy makers and regulators elsewhere in Africa start to emulate European “best practice” regulation, despite the difficulties mature and resourced regulators in the European Union face in instituting legally binding maximum tariffs for roaming, a valuable alternative policy and regulatory strategy exists in the creation of enabling competitive environments in which incentives to reduce to eliminate roaming charge, rather than retain environments in which international call termination on roaming phones can be arbitraged.Social implicationsEven though ultimately Zain was not successful as a disruptive competitor, it forced the dominant operators to reduce their roaming charges that resulted in sustained welfare gains.Originality/valueThis paper provides both novel theoretical insight and empirical evidence to explain the end of roaming charges in East Africa. It nuances perceptions in the popular and technical press that this was purely a market strategy that could be emulated anywhere else. It highlights the necessary enabling policy and regulatory environment that needed to be created and provides empirical evidence of the impact on competition in the market and analyses the outcomes of Zain's short term business strategy, against the longer term disruptive effect on the market.

The Story of the EU and the Happily Roaming Consumers Case No. C58/08, Vodafone Ltd, et al. v. Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Once upon a time, there were roaming charges and disgruntled consumers. As a result of a preliminary ruling1 concerning the validity of a legislative measure2 on roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the European Union (hereinafter 'Union'), the regulation of roaming charges may have been changed forever. The reference had been made in proceedings between operators of public mobile telephone networks, including Vodafone Ltd, Telefónica O2 Europe plc, T-Mobile International AG, and Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd, and the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The roaming regulation aimed to cap the wholesale and retail charges mobile operators could charge for the provision of roaming services on public mobile networks for voice calls between Member States. The validity of the roaming regulation was challenged on three grounds, namely that its legal basis was inadequate, that it infringed the principle of proportionality, and that it offended the principle of subsidiarity. It was left to the Court of Justice to seal the fate of the roaming consumers.

International Voice Tariffs: Disparities and Recommendations for Convergence in South Asia

The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of international roaming in South Asia and make recommendations on how transparency and consistency in tariffs may be achieved; two elements that are important if the objective of SAARC is to provide its citizens a single-market environment. International roaming is a service that allows ease of communication for travelers and facilitates cross-border communication. It is a service that is only used by those who can afford foreign travel and high roaming charges; however, it is these communication links that connect the region. Affordability aside, research shows significant price variations within the SAARC region. Such disparities in roaming tariffs have long been the cause of concern for many and efforts have been made to regulate tariffs at a regional level within other organizations; the most successful being that of the European Union (EU). This paper also draws upon such examples.

International roaming: is there a need for EU‐regulation beyond 2010?

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to analyze the need for regulation of international roaming within EU beyond 2010.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes roaming costs, market conditions and present regulation. On this basis, future prospects for competition in international roaming are discussed.FindingsMarket developments indicate that regulation of international roaming charges will be needed for some time, before competition can ensure that roaming charges are at a level that reflects the underlying costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper limits its analysis to roaming of voice services, and excludes analysis of roaming of data service services.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the need to regulate international roaming charges.

Light-Air-Portals: Visual Notes on Differential Mobility

Light-Air-Portals: Visual Notes on Differential Mobility

Consumer-Oriented Incoming Call Connection Service for a Ubiquitous Consumer Wireless World

This paper proposes an architecture and protocol infrastructure for a novel consumer-oriented incoming call connection (ICC) service. In the ubiquitous consumer wireless world (UCWW) this service is one of the core services requiring new infrastructural solutions for its realisation. The solution proposed here, besides realising the service, will offer mobile users greater flexibility and management control over incoming calls, enable users to receive incoming calls via multiple access networks/providers through a single identity, enable user-driven, seamless, network-transparent hot access network change (HAC), largely end roaming charges and create a new wireless networking business opportunity among other benefits. The main components and interfaces of the ICC service architecture and infrastructure are described, and protocol candidates are suggested. A generic consumer-oriented ICC service scenario is elaborated theoretically, implemented and experimentally verified for voice over IP (VoIP) connections in a testbed environment which includes network-transparent HAC. Two distinct ICC operational modes are identified and compared in respect of relative signaling latency and processing resources for a number of key functions such as session setup and release, and HAC.

Techno-economic analysis of international mobile roaming

The impact of regulatory pressure to reduce international mobile roaming (IMR) charges, especially in Europe, and the potential competition from other technology alternatives will be the main motivations for existing mobile operators to find solutions that will reduce the cost of operations and increase maintain the revenue margins, while maintaining control over subscribers. This article provides an overview of the changing business dynamics of IMR. analyzes the existing and emerging IMR scenarios, and proposes a mechanism that addresses the technological disadvantages of existing ones. The article also evaluates the business implications of the proposed mechanism vis-a-vis ihe preferred roaming scenario of today (i.e.. home routed traffic) from a mobile operator's point of view.

Would You Like that iPhone Locked or Unlocked?: Reconciling Apple's Anticircumvention Measures with the DMCA

When Apple's iPhone first hit the stores it was an epochal media event.2 Apple, long a leader in high-end computers and personal electronics, was poised to make its entry into ahighly-competitive market with a new mobile phone that promised groundbreaking technological capabilities in a sleek, ergonomic package. Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs, extolled the iPhone's virtues to an eager press, and, shortly thereafter, Apple's stock jumped dramatically.3 Apple's loyal devotees lined up in anticipation days before the phone's June 29, 2007 release.4 It took Apple a mere seventy-four days to sell one million handsets.5 But some time after the fanfarehad settled down, public perception of the iPhone shifted. As consumers began to use the iPhone, the once-beloved phone began to acquire its share of discontents. Consumers expressed frustration in response to 300-page phone bills,6 expensive roaming charges,7 and, perhaps most vocally, to the technological methods Apple used to police its exclusive agreement with AT&T. 8

Toward a ubiquitous consumer wireless world

This article sets out a consumer-based generic techno-business model foundation for future generations of wireless communications. It is proposed as an evolution of, and alternative to, the legacy subscriber-based model. Two key novel proposals are a person-centric IPv6 address enabling full number portability and an access-network-independent third-party authentication, authorization, and accounting (3P-AAA) service provision, which will empower users to opt out of their long-term subscriptions with access network providers and use advertised communication services from any consumer-centric wireless access network that is present to them. The wireless environment thus created is described as a ubiquitous consumer wireless world (UCWW). Its most characteristic attributes are consumer choice, consumer-driven always best connected and served, consumer-driven integrated heterogeneous networking, elimination of roaming charges, a level playing field for new access network provider entrants, and a potential commercial ad hoc networking solution. New core UCWW infrastructural entities and functionalities proposed and described include 3P-AAA service provisioning; a universal CIM1 card; a personal IPv6 address class, wireless billboard channels; advertisement, discovery, and association services; and access-network-independent incoming call connection service providers. Typical interrelationships and operation of these entities are illustrated by means of an example. UCWW elements requiring standardization are noted

Roaming free?: Roaming network selection and inter-operator tariffs

International roaming – the ability to use one's mobile phone on foreign networks – has contributed to the success of GSM services in Europe, but has also been a constant concern for competition authorities. Whilst competition for subscribers has driven down the cost of owning and using mobile phones, roaming charges have remained high, and have been the subject of investigation for example by the European Commission. However, in order to see whether high roaming charges are indeed the result of failing competition, and in order to identify appropriate remedies, one needs to understand how technological constraints impact on competition in the provision of roaming services. In particular, the limited ability to direct roaming traffic onto a particular network implies that price competition at the level of inter-operator tariffs (IOTs) is muted. In this paper, we model competition in the provision of-wholesale roaming services, and its implications for retail offers, depending on the ability to direct roaming traffic onto particular partner networks. We examine the impact of cross-border mergers which are often seen to improve an operator's ability to offer seamless roaming service across an increasing number of countries as a result of an enlarged footprint.

International roaming charges: over-charging and competition law

International roaming is a major technical achievement of the GSM standard. Initially, users were impressed by the technical facility that a mobile phone would work initially across the European Union (EU) and in many other countries, and with a tri-band phone, in North America. Estimates of the market size at the end of 1999 were in the range of US$ 1000 million, with continuing rapid growth. However, users quickly realized that the costs of international roaming were far higher than could be justified. At a time when fixed telecommunications costs and prices were falling, the prices for mobile roaming were spiralling out of control. The response from user organizations has been to withdraw phones, to forbid their use abroad and to encourage alternatives, such as phone-cards and visits to local offices. A series of surveys by INTUG in 1999 and 2000 gathered comparative data on international roaming charges in Europe. The results showed price variances of 2–10 times for the same or a similar call. These data have attracted the interest of the Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission and a formal investigation has been initiated. A decision is expected in late-2000, which could have influence outside the EU, since the principles of competition law, and the terms of international roaming agreements are similar around the world. The indications are that the complexity of the charges, the backroom negotiations and other factors demonstrate that this is very far from being a competitive market. As the GSM Association begins to create a Global Roaming Forum to prepare for 3G (UMTS) roaming, it is clear that a more open and competitive regime is essential if the prices are to be driven down to reasonable levels. That in turn is necessary if we are to see the innovations in uses necessary for the next stage of the development of the mobile telecommunications industry and mobile–Internet convergence.

Communications [Technology 2000 analysis and forecast

The mergers and acquisitions on-going among communications companies around the world fall mostly into two categories. Some deals involve similar companies-two cellular service providers, say, seeking to plug gaps in their coverage footprints and to cut costs by reducing churn, eliminating roaming charges, and coordinating the purchase of handsets and other equipment. Others involve complementary companies-perhaps a long-distance carrier and a local service provider looking to increase revenue by bundling their services, selling them to a larger customer base, and together creating new services. Amidst all the merger frenzy, one thing that the key players and some of their larger customers have discovered is IP telephony-that is, packet-switched telephony running over a network that uses the Internet Protocol. The strategy of running voice and data traffic on the same network could both cut communications costs and make new services possible. But, for the Internet itself, those goals will not be reached without some serious tradeoffs, of which voice quality and privacy loom largest. With all the attention that cellular companies are now getting, wireless communication has also become a hot commodity. Ubiquitous connectivity seems to be envisioned in which people will always be able to communicate with each other and with the Internet, though perhaps not always with high bandwidth.