Spain and Portugal have held talks about eliminating mobile roaming charges between the two countries, according to a report last week in The New York Times. Following preliminary discussions, the subject will be on the agenda at a summit between the two countries’ prime ministers next month. Portuguese leader José Sócrates has talked enthusiastically about the benefits to bilateral trade that could accrue to the two countries if roaming rates were abolished.

Most people agree lower roaming rates, or even no rates at all, are good, but does the mobile industry really want them to be set as a result of wider trade talks? Remember these are talks between governments – not telecoms regulators or mobile operators. Bilateral discussion leaves governments free to decide with who they negotiate, and with who they don’t. The identity of those countries they omit might be as significant as those they choose to include. Nothing to suggest of course that any such thing is happening between Portugal and Spain.  But once roaming becomes politicised there is a risk it could become used as a protectionist measure that not just actively includes but actively excludes certain countries. Or it allows for the suspicion that an agenda other than pure price reduction is in play.

For instance, southern European countries have historically benefited from incoming roaming revenue from northern European visitors. It’s a useful source of revenue for incumbent mobile operators in tourist destinations in southern Europe. Given that flow of incoming revenue, would the governments of Portugal and Spain have struck similar deals with their counterparts of Germany, Norway or Sweden?

In a worse case scenario, if bilateral pacts led to retaliation then the industry could breakdown into a series of roaming blocs. Cheap roaming would be possible between say eastern European countries at cheap rates or even for free, while foreign travellers would have to pay a premium when moving outside their home bloc.

Now of course such a scenario is completely hypothetical. After all, the European Commission has a lot of power when it comes to roaming regulation. And it has shown a willingness in the past to use it. In fact, the commission has not just laid out targets for lower roaming rates but is also looking for parity between member states. So wouldn’t it just be easier to let all roaming negotiation go via Brussels?

Richard Handford

The editorial views expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and will not necessarily reflect the views of the GSMA, its Members or Associate Members