Study Shows Low Prices On Europe's Top Roaming Routes

29 November 2006

29th November 2006 - London: In some of the most popular business and tourist destinations in Europe, many visitors can make a two-minute mobile phone call home for as little as 33 Euro cents per minute*, according to a study of the top roaming routes in the European Union by the GSM Association, the global trade association for mobile operators.

In France, the most visited European country, the study found that visiting Germans can make a two-minute call home for 33 Euro cents per minute by signing up for a bundle of roaming minutes offered by one of the mobile phone operators in Germany. British users in France can make a two-minute call home for 35 pence per minute by signing up for a discount tariff offered by one of the operators in the U.K. Both packages, like similar discounted tariffs from rival operators, are available to all mobile phone users. For visitors making calls of 4 minutes or longer, even better tariffs are available, reducing the per minute charge to as little as 19 Euro cents on the busiest roaming routes.** Some of these deals have been in place since 2005.

In Spain, the second most visited European country, Germans and British users can enjoy the same rates as in France, according to the study, which is based on data from the GSMA's roaming price comparison web site (http://www.roaming.gsmeurope.org/). Similar deals are also available across other high volume traffic routes in Europe, underlining the increasingly good value available to mobile phone users travelling in Europe. The average lowest price across the 25 busiest roaming routes in the EU is 46 Euro cents per minute for a two-minute call, according to the study. These roaming routes represent almost 50% of the roaming traffic in the EU market.

"This study shows that roaming prices are dropping and are probably far lower than many people think, particularly on high-volume routes where operators can achieve economies of scale," said Tom Phillips, Chief Government & Regulatory Affairs Officer. "These figures undermine the need for regulation of this market by demonstrating the power of competitive forces."

The GSMA believes regulation is unnecessary, as the market is delivering on-going declines in roaming tariffs. The average price for making and receiving a mobile phone call when roaming within Europe was 22% lower this summer compared with 2005, according to a retail price index compiled by leading consultancy AT Kearney.

The top five most popular roaming routes in Europe

Rank	Home Country	Visited Country	Lowest rate per minute for a two minute call back home(in Euros)***
1	Germany	France	0.33
2	Germany	Spain	0.33
3	UK	France	0.52
4	UK	Spain	0.52
5	France	Spain	0.50

*These per minute call rates include tax

** The roamer pays a connection fee of 75 Euro cents and then uses four of the free voice minutes bundled with their standard tariff plan.

***These rates are for calls back home on post-paid tariff plans, which typically require customers to opt-in or pay up-front for a bundle of minutes.

Source: AT Kearney and GSM Association's roaming price comparison site:
(http://www.roaming.gsmeurope.org/)

Press release translated into:
German (56kb pdf)
Spanish (56kb pdf)
French (56kb pdf)

About the GSM Association
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 215 countries of the world. In addition, more than 180 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 - 82% of the world's mobile phone users.

For further information contact:

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

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