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New Web Site Helps Consumers to Find Best Mobile Roaming Rates

10 July 2006

10th July 2006 - Brussels - European mobile operators have today launched a Web site that enables European consumers to find the best tariffs for making and receiving mobile phone calls when travelling abroad this summer. The site, which features up-to-date prices supplied directly by 75 operators from across the European Union, is the most comprehensive and accurate source of roaming information for travellers.

Available in six languages, the site http://www.roaming.gsmeurope.org/ shows prices by individual operator for a two-minute peak-time call to a fixed-line in the traveller's home country, prices for receiving a two minute peak-time call from home and the cost of sending and receiving text messages when travelling within Europe. The new site was developed by GSM Europe (GSME), the European arm of the GSM Association, with input from the European Regulators Group (ERG), to ensure European consumers have an easy way of finding the best mobile roaming rate when travelling in Europe.

"With competition ensuring that a wide choice of roaming packages and price plans are available in Europe, it is vital that the mobile industry makes it easy for its customers to find the best rate for their needs," said Kaisu Karvala, Chair of GSME. "Customers will have access to constantly-updated information, covering many different roaming price plans, direct from the industry."

"The ERG welcomes this initiative from GSM Europe," added Kip Meek, Chair of the ERG, which represents national telecoms regulators from across the European Union. "Making prices more transparent is an important step towards making the international roaming market work and providing a better deal for consumers".

The new site is more comprehensive than many existing sites as it includes prices available under packages specially tailored to roamers, highlighting the wide range of innovative tariff packages mobile operators are using to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

Supporting quotes from participating operators:

"Orange is pleased to participate and endorse this website which goes hand in hand with our commitment to communicate in a clear and transparent manner to our customers," said Damian Reid, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Performance, Orange. "The new website is a positive step forward for the industry and good news for all customers wishing to use roaming services."

"The result of eight months work, this Web site shows that European mobile operators have a great interest in giving their customers full transparency on roaming tariffs," said Wolfgang Kopf, EVP Public and Regulatory Affairs T-Mobile International. "The diverse range of prices contained on the site clearly demonstrates that the roaming market is innovative and already competitive. The Web site will also show that roaming prices throughout Europe are declining since many operators are already implementing substantial price cuts."

"This is the first Web site to fully reflect the wide diversity of roaming tariffs now available to Europeans," said Richard Feasey, Director of Public Policy at Vodafone. "The GSME site will provide customers with accurate, easy-to-access, useful information that will give them even more price transparency."

Notes to Editors:

The operators participating in this initiative are: 
 

Austria	A1
	ONE
	tele.ring
	T-Mobile
Belgium	Proximus
	Mobistar
Cyprus	Areeba
	cytamobile-vodafone
Czech Republic	Eurotel
	Vodafone
	T-Mobile
Denmark	Sonofon
	TDC Mobil
	TeliaSonera
Estonia	EMT
	Elisa
	Tele2
Finland	Alands Mobiltelefon
	Elisa
	dna
	Sonera
France	Bouygues Telecom
	Orange
	SFR
Germany	O2
	T-Mobile
	Vodafone
Greece	COSMOTE
	Q-Telecom
	TIM
	Vodafone
Hungary	Pannon
	T-Mobile
	Vodafone
Ireland	Meteor
	O2
	Vodafone
Italy	TIM
	Vodafone
	Wind
Latvia	LMT
	BITE
	Tele2
Lithuania	Omnitel
	BITE
	Tele2
Luxembourg	P & T Luxembourg
	Tango
	VOXmobile
Malta	go mobile
	Vodafone
The Netherlands	KPN
	Orange
	Telfort
	T-Mobile
	Vodafone
Poland	Plus
	ERA
	Orange
Portugal	Optimus
	TMN
	Vodafone
Slovakia	Orange
	T-Mobile
Slovenia	Mobitel
	Si.mobil
Spain	Amena
	Movistar
	Vodafone
Sweden	Spring Mobil
	Tele2
	TeliaSonera
	Telenor
UK	O2
	Orange
	T-Mobile
	Vodafone

About GSM Europe
GSM Europe is the European interest group of the GSM Association, representing 147 members in 50 European countries/areas serving 558 million customers. The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing more than 690 GSM mobile phone operators across 213 countries of the world. In addition, more than 150 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners.

The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than 2 billion customers - more than 80% of the world's mobile phone users.

About the GSM Association

For further information contact:

David Pringle
GSM Association
Tel: +44 795 755 6069
Email:press@gsm.org

Eirini Zafeiratou
GSM Europe
Tel: +32 2 706 81 06
Mobile: + 32 478 31 98 07
Email: ezafeiratou@gsm.org

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