Regulation 717-2007

Article 1
Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation introduces a common approach to ensuring that users of public mobile telephone networks when travelling within the Community do not pay excessive prices for Community-wide roaming services when making calls and receiving calls, thereby contributing to the smooth functioning of the internal market while achieving a high level of consumer protection, safeguarding competition between mobile operators and preserving both incentives for innovation and consumer choice. It lays down rules on the charges that may be levied by mobile operators for the provision of international roaming services for voice calls originating and terminating within the Community and applies both to charges levied between network operators at wholesale level and to charges levied by home providers at retail level.

2. This Regulation also lays down rules aimed at increasing price transparency and improving the provision of information on charges to users of Community-wide roaming services.

3. This Regulation constitutes a specific measure within the meaning of Article 1(5) of the Framework Directive.

4. The charge limits set out in this Regulation are expressed in Euro. Where charges governed by Articles 3 and 4 are denominated in other currencies, the initial limits pursuant to those Articles shall be determined in those currencies by applying the reference exchange rates prevailing on 30 June 2007, as published by the European Central Bank in the Official Journal of the European Union. For the purposes of the subsequent reductions in those limits provided for in Article 3(2) and Article 4(2), the revised values shall be determined by applying the reference exchange rates so published one month preceding the date from which the revised values apply.

Article 2
Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions set out in Article 2 of the Access Directive, Article 2 of the Framework Directive, and Article 2 of the Universal Service Directive shall apply.

2. In addition to the definitions referred to in paragraph 1, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘Eurotariff’ means any tariff not exceeding the maximum charge, provided for in Article 4, which a home provider may levy for the provision of regulated roaming calls in compliance with that Article;

(b) ‘home provider’ means an undertaking that provides a roaming customer with terrestrial public mobile telephony services either via its own network or as a mobile virtual network operator or reseller;

(c) ‘home network’ means a terrestrial public mobile telephone network located within a Member State and used by a home
provider for the provision of terrestrial public mobile telephony services to a roaming customer;

(d) ‘Community-wide roaming’ means the use of a mobile telephone or other device by a roaming customer to make or receive intra-Community calls while in a Member State other than that in which his home network is located, by means of arrangements between the operator of the home network and the operator of the visited network;

(e) ‘regulated roaming call’ means a mobile voice telephony call made by a roaming customer, originating on a visited network and terminating on a public telephone network within the Community or received by a roaming customer, originating
on a public telephone network within the Community and terminating on a visited network;

(f) ‘roaming customer’ means a customer of a provider of terrestrial public mobile telephony services, by means of a terrestrial public mobile network situated in the Community, whose contract or arrangement with his home provider permits the use of a mobile telephone or other device to make or to receive calls on a visited network by means of arrangements between the operator of the home network and the operator of the visited network;

(g) ‘visited network’ means a terrestrial public mobile telephone network situated in a Member State other than that of the home network and permitting a roaming customer to make or receive calls by means of arrangements with the operator of the home network.

Article 3
Wholesale charges for the making of regulated roaming calls

1. The average wholesale charge that the operator of a visited network may levy from the operator of a roaming customer’s
home network for the provision of a regulated roaming call originating on that visited network, inclusive inter alia of origination, transit and termination costs, shall not exceed EUR 0,30 per minute.

2. This average wholesale charge shall apply between any pair of operators and shall be calculated over a twelve month period or any such shorter period as may remain before the expiry of this Regulation. The maximum average wholesale charge shall decrease to EUR 0,28 and EUR 0,26, on 30 August 2008 and on 30 August 2009 respectively.

3. The average wholesale charge referred to in paragraph 1 shall be calculated by dividing the total wholesale roaming revenue received by the total number of wholesale roaming minutes sold for the provision of wholesale roaming calls within the Community by the relevant operator over the relevant period. The operator of the visited network shall be permitted to make a distinction between peak and off-peak charges.

Article 4
Retail charges for regulated roaming calls

1. Home providers shall make available and actively offer to all their roaming customers, clearly and transparently, a Eurotariff as provided for in paragraph 2. This Eurotariff shall not entail any associated subscription or other fixed or recurring charges and may be combined with any retail tariff. 29.6.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 171/37 When making this offer, home providers shall remind any of their roaming customers who, before 30 June 2007, had chosen a specific roaming tariff or package of the conditions applicable to that tariff or package.

2. The retail charge (excluding VAT) of a Eurotariff which a home provider may levy from its roaming customer for the provision of a regulated roaming call may vary for any roaming call but shall not exceed EUR 0,49 per minute for any call made or EUR 0,24 per minute for any call received. The price ceiling for calls made shall decrease to EUR 0,46 and EUR 0,43, and for calls received to EUR 0,22 and EUR 0,19, on 30 August 2008 and on 30 August 2009 respectively.

3. All roaming customers shall be offered a tariff as set out in paragraph 2. All existing roaming customers shall be given the opportunity by 30 July 2007 to opt deliberately for a Eurotariff or any other roaming tariff, and shall be allowed a period of two months within which to make their choice known to their home provider. The requested tariff shall be activated no later than one month after receipt by the home provider of the customer’s request. Roaming customers who within that period of two months have not expressed their choice shall automatically be provided with
a Eurotariff as set out in paragraph 2. However, roaming customers who before 30 June 2007 had already made a deliberate choice of a specific roaming tariff or package other than the roaming tariff which they would have been accorded in the absence of such choice, and who fail to express a choice pursuant to this paragraph, shall remain on their previously chosen tariff or package.

4. Any roaming customer may request, at any point after the process set out in paragraph 3 has been completed, to switch to or from a Eurotariff. Any switch must be made within one working day of receipt of the request and free of charge and shall not entail conditions or restrictions pertaining to other elements of the subscription. A home provider may delay such a switch until the previous roaming tariff has been effective for a minimum specified period not exceeding three months.

Article 5
Application of Articles 3 and 6

1. Article 3 shall apply from 30 August 2007.

2. Article 6(1) and (2) shall apply from 30 September 2007.

Article 6
Transparency of retail charges

1. To alert a roaming customer to the fact that he will be subject to roaming charges when making or receiving a call, each home provider shall, except when the customer has notified his home provider that he does not require this service, provide the customer, automatically by means of a Message Service, without undue delay and free of charge, when he enters a Member State other than that of his home network, with basic personalised pricing information on the roaming charges (including VAT) that apply to the making and receiving of calls by that customer in the visited Member State. This basic personalised pricing information shall include the maximum charges the customer may be subject to under his tariff scheme for making calls within the visited country and back to the Member State of his home network, as well as for calls received. It shall also include the free of charge number referred to in paragraph 2 for obtaining more detailed information. A customer who has given notice that he does not require the automatic Message Service shall have the right at any time and free of charge to require the home provider to provide the service again. Home providers shall provide blind or partially-sighted customers with this basic personalised pricing information automatically, by voice call, free-of-charge, if they so request.

2. In addition to paragraph 1, customers shall have the right to request and receive, free of charge, more detailed personalised pricing information on the roaming charges that apply to voice calls, SMS, MMS and other data communication services, by means of a mobile voice call or by SMS. Such a request shall be to a free of charge number designated for this purpose by the home provider.

3. Home providers shall provide all users with full information on applicable roaming charges, in particular on the Eurotariff, when subscriptions are taken out. They shall also provide their roaming customers with updates on applicable roaming charges without undue delay each time there is a change in these charges. Home providers shall take the necessary steps to secure awareness by all their roaming customers of the availability of the Eurotariff. They shall in particular communicate to all roaming customers by 30 July 2007 the conditions relating to the Eurotariff in a clear and unbiased manner. They shall send a reminder at reasonable intervals thereafter to all customers who have opted for another tariff.

Article 7
Supervision and enforcement

1. National regulatory authorities shall monitor and supervise compliance with this Regulation within their territory.

2. National regulatory authorities shall make up-to-date information on the application of this Regulation, in particular Articles 3 and 4, publicly available in a manner that enables interested parties to have easy access to it.

3. National regulatory authorities shall in preparation for the review provided for in Article 11, monitor developments in wholesale and retail charges for the provision to roaming customers of voice and data communications services, including SMS and MMS, including in the outermost regions referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty. National regulatory authorities shall also be alert to the particular case of involuntary roaming in the border regions of neighbouring Member States and monitor whether traffic steering techniques are used to the disadvantage of customers. They shall communicate the results of such monitoring to the Commission, including separate information on corporate,
post-paid and pre-paid customers, every six months.

4. National regulatory authorities shall have the power to require undertakings subject to obligations under this Regulation to supply all information relevant to the implementation and enforcement of this Regulation. Those undertakings shall provide such information promptly on request and to the timescales and level of detail required by the national regulatory authority.

5. National regulatory authorities may intervene on their own initiative in order to ensure compliance with this Regulation. In particular, they shall, where necessary, make use of the powers under Article 5 of the Access Directive to ensure adequate access and interconnection in order to guarantee the end-to-end connectivity and interoperability of roaming services.

6. Where a national regulatory authority finds that a breach of the obligations set out in this Regulation has occurred, it shall have the power to require the immediate cessation of such a breach.

Article 8
Dispute resolution

1. In the event of a dispute in connection with the obligations laid down in this Regulation between undertakings providing electronic communications networks or services in a Member State, the dispute resolution procedures laid down in Articles 20 and 21 of the Framework Directive shall apply.

2. In the event of an unresolved dispute involving a consumer or end-user and concerning an issue falling within the scope of this Regulation, the Member States shall ensure that the out-ofcourt dispute resolution procedures laid down in Article 34 of the Universal Service Directive are available.

Article 9
Penalties

Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall notify those provisions to the Commission no later than 30 March 2008 and shall notify it without delay of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

Article 10
Amendment to Directive 2002/21/EC (Framework Directive)

The following paragraph shall be added to Article 1 of Directive 2002/21/EC (Framework Directive): ‘5. This Directive and the Specific Directives shall be without prejudice to any specific measure adopted for the regulation of international roaming on public mobile telephone networks within the Community.’

Article 11
Review

1. The Commission shall review the functioning of this Regulation and report to the European Parliament and the Council no later than 30 December 2008. The Commission shall evaluate in particular whether the objectives of this Regulation have been achieved. In its report the Commission shall review developments in wholesale and retail charges for the provision to roaming customers of voice and data communication services,including SMS and MMS, and shall, if appropriate, include recommendations regarding the need to regulate these services. For this purpose the Commission may use the information supplied pursuant to Article 7(3).

2. In its report, the Commission shall assess whether, in the light of developments in the market and with regard to both
competition and consumer protection, there is need to extend the duration of this Regulation beyond the period set out in
Article 13 or to amend it, taking into account the developments in charges for mobile voice and data communication services at national level and the effects of this Regulation on the competitive situation of smaller, independent or newly started operators. If the Commission finds that there is such a need, it shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council. 29.6.2007 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 171/39

Article 12
Notification requirements

Member States shall notify to the Commission no later than 30 August 2007 the identity of the national regulatory authorities responsible for carrying out tasks under this Regulation.

Article 13
Entry into force and expiry

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall expire on 30 June 2010. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 27 June 2007. For the European ParliamentThe President