WRITTEN QUESTION E-0651/02

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(8 March 2002)

Subject: Short message service within the Union

The popularity of the until recently quite unknown SMS (short message service) used to send brief text messages from mobile phones, is such that last year it generated thousands of millions of messages.

Although the Internet had already been making instantaneous written communication possible, with significant numbers of users communicating in real time, the move from the computer screen to the mobile phone's small screen has opened up a whole new area of business in this field.

For some digital phone operators, SMS represent a significant percentage of revenue. Furthermore, other businesses, separate from these operators, offer added value services such as weather forecasts, information on financial operations or search services, competitions, etc., for which the user pays separately from the fee paid to the digital operator.

Clients who require specific services may, when sending messages abroad, find themselves obliged to pay tariffs which reflect the fact that they are clearly being treated differently and prejudicially compared with Internet users.

If an SM is sent to another Member States, its international routing can greatly increase the cost, always providing that it is possible to send a message in the first place. What measures is the Commission adopting to prevent telephone operators from placing economic obstacles in the way of the sending of messages of this kind throughout the Union's territory? Given that SMS are just one more element of the information society, does the Commission not believe that the telephone operators should encourage the establishment of reasonably-priced tariffs, as has already been done with the Internet, and thus ensure that users of both forms of communication receive similar treatment?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(26 April 2002)

The new regulatory framework on electronic communication networks and services(1) adopted the 14 February 2002, aims at bringing more competition in the sector at the benefit of consumers in terms of price, quality and value for money. It introduces, inter alia, a flexible mechanism in the legislation to allow it to evolve with future technology and market changes and create a level playing field across EU by ensuring harmonised application through co-ordination mechanism at EU level.

Under this framework, to be transposed by Member States in the middle of 2003, any type of market may be analysed and assessed and appropriate regulation/remedies may be imposed by national regulatory authorities where the market is found not to be competitive.

Annex I of the Framework Directive gives a list of those products and service markets within the electronic communications sector, the characteristics of which may be such as to justify the imposition of regulatory obligations set out in the specific Directives. The definition of the markets should be in accordance with the principles of competition law. This list of relevant market does not currently include the SMS market as a separate market but does include the national market for international roaming for competitive assessment by national regulatory authorities.

The Commission is undertaking a number of measures linked to the implementation of the new framework. These include:

(a) Publication of guidelines at Community level in accordance with competition law for national regulatory authorities to follow in assessing whether competition is effective in a given market,

(b) Adoption of a Recommendation on Relevant Product and Service Markets based on annex I of the Framework Directive, after public consultation and consultation with national regulatory authorities.

(1) COM(2000) 393.