Press Release: Competition: Commission challenges international roaming rates for mobile phones in Germany

The European Commission on 10 February 2005 sent two separate 'statements of objections' to the German mobile network operators (MNOs) T-Mobile and Vodafone because the Commission believed the companies' practices were likely to be contrary to EC Treaty rules on abuse of monopoly power (Article 82). In particular, the European Commission challenged the high rates that T-Mobile and Vodafone charged other MNOs for international roaming services at wholesale level. Foreign MNOs paid Inter-Operator-Tariffs (IOTs) for the use of T-Mobile and Vodafone's German networks when their own subscribers use their mobile phones when visiting Germany (so-called 'roaming'). High IOTs hurt consumers because they were passed on in full to the MNO's subscribers. The Commission sent two similar statements of objections to UK operators Vodafone and O2 in July 2004 (see IP/04/994).