RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/W/335 
28 February 2011  
 
(11-0981) 
Council for Trade in Services  Original:   English 
  
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA, NORWAY AND THE UNITED STATES  
 
Proposal for a workshop on international mobile roaming 
 
and the applicability of the GATS  
 
  The following communication, dated 24 February  2011, from the delegations of Australia, 
Norway and the United States is being circulated to Members of the Council for Trade in Services. 
 
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1. Recent work undertaken by the OECD Comm ittee on Communications, Infrastructure and 
Services Policy (CISP) and the Working Party of the Trade Committee (WPTC) has highlighted some 
issues concerning the applicability of the disciplines of the General Agreement on Trade in Services’ 
(GATS) Annex on Telecommunications (the Annex)  and the Telecommunications Reference Paper 
(the Reference Paper) in relation to international mobile roaming.1  
2. The ability of businesses and consumers to use inte rnational mobile roaming effectively plays 
a critical role in facilitating economic interactions in areas such as trade and travel. 
I. WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL MOBILE ROAMING? 
3. International mobile roaming permits travellers  to use their existing mobile phone account on 
networks in other countries for te lephone, data and SMS services. The traveller is billed by their home 
provider. This relationship is re ferred to as the retail level.  
4. International mobile roaming is  underpinned by agreements be tween the traveller’s provider 
and providers in the country the traveller is vis iting. These agreements for the provision of roaming 
services at the ‘wholesale level’ between mobile netw ork operators in different countries enable the 
provision of international ro aming at the retail level. 
II. DOES THE WTO HAVE A ROLE? 
5. It appears likely that mobile telephone servi ces are ‘public telecommunications transport 
services’ within the meaning of the Annex, a nd ‘basic telecommunications services’ within the 
meaning of the Reference Paper. It also seems lik ely that such services fall within Members’ specific 
commitments for ‘voice telephone services’, ‘data transmission services’ and/or other ‘cellular’, 
‘mobile’ or similar services’. Paragraph 5(a) of the Annex provides that services suppliers should be 
accorded access to  and use of  public telecommunications transport services on reasonable  and non-
discriminatory  terms and conditions.  
                                                      
1 DSTI/ICCP/CISP(2010)1/REV1 
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  6. Further, Members who have inscribed the Refere nce Paper in their Schedules are subject to its 
obligations relating to basic telecommunications services, which include mobile telephone, data and 
SMS services.  If a visited network operator is a ‘maj or supplier’ within the meaning of the Reference 
Paper, its provisions requiring that ‘ interconnection with a major supplier will be ensured...” and that 
interconnection be provided at “ cost-oriented rates that are trans parent, reasonable, having regard to 
economic feasibility ...” (paragraph 2.2(b)) may also be applicable.   
Questions for WTO Members to consider include:  
 
(a) how does international mobile roaming relate to the services classification list 
(“W/120”) on which Members’ Sche dule commitments are based?   
(b) how does the requirement in paragraph 5(a)  of the Annex to ensure “access to and 
use” of public telecommunications transpor t services apply to international mobile 
roaming? 
(c) how does the requirement in paragraph 5(a)  of the Annex to ensure “reasonable and 
non-discriminatory terms and conditions” for the access to and use of public telecommunications transport services appl y to international mobile roaming? 
(d) can paragraph 5 (a) of the Annex have a role  in the regulation of international mobile 
roaming charges and conditions and, if so , would such a role apply at both the 
wholesale and retail level? 
(e) can paragraph 2.2(b) of the Reference Pa per have a role in the regulation of 
international mobile roaming charges and co nditions and, if so, would such a role 
apply at both the wholesal e and retail level?  
III. OECD WORK 
7. The OECD found that it can be up to 20 times more expensive for an international roamer to 
make a call home than for a local mobile user, in th at country, to make an international call to the 
roamer’s home country. 
8. It also found that the charges ‘roamers’ have been charged for roaming can be up to 700 times 
more than the actual cost of the call. 
9. In its paper on ‘ International Mobile Roaming Services – Next Steps and Recommendations’  
(attached) the OECD concludes that the users face  unreasonable retail prices and that operators quite 
often bore wholesale rates not consis tent with an effective functi oning of the market. The OECD 
recommended that countries consider how existing WTO instruments, namely the GATS, may be 
used to deliver mobile roaming services on more competitive terms and conditions. 
IV. PROPOSAL FOR A WORKSHOP 
10. Considering the work which the OECD has undertaken, and that high costs for international 
mobile roaming have been identified as a barrier to  business mobility, Australia and the United States 
propose that the WTO Secretariat be tasked to fac ilitate a workshop on international mobile roaming 
at the next services cluster.   
11. Co-sponsors make this request without prejudi ce to their positions on the issues to be 
discussed.  S/C/W/335 
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  12. The workshop could includ e the following elements: 
(a) Presentations from experts on the existing research and initiatives on international 
mobile roaming, including for example, experts from the International Telecommunications Union [WTO Secretar iat to provide more information]; 
(b) A briefing from the OECD Committee on Communications, Infrastructure and 
Services Policy on their series of reports on international mobile roaming; 
(c) An overview of the European Union’s e xperience in decreasing roaming charges; 
(d) Presentations from representatives from other countries who have undertaken or are 
considering reforms to address excessive in ternational mobile roaming charges; and 
(e) Discussion of the questions for WTO members to consider set out above. 
V. EXPECTED OUTCOMES 
13. The purpose of the discussion would be to  assist Members to understand how GATS 
obligations relevant to the telecommunications sec tor may apply to international mobile roaming 
services.  
14. A report of the workshop could be provided to the many other international bodies who are 
considering the issue of international mobile ro aming, such as the International Telecommunication 
Union, APEC and the OECD.  
VI. CONCLUSION 
15. The workshop will bring together experts on in ternational mobile roaming, and support an 
informed discussion on the applicability of GATS ob ligations, including those set out in the Annex 
and Reference Paper, to internati onal mobile roaming.  This discussion would not form part of the 
services negotiations as it is a discussion of Members’ existing obligations.  
 
 
 
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