EU lawmakers’ committee votes for bigger cuts in wholesale roaming fees

BRUSSELS: Lawmakers on the European Parliament’s industry committee voted on Thursday for deeper cuts in wholesale roaming tariffs paid by telecoms operators to their counterparts than those proposed by the EU Commission, saying the move would boost competition.

Wholesale price caps typically pit telecoms providers in southern European countries with those in northern Europe over who should benefit from tourists making calls home.

The former are keen to keep such caps as high as possible so they can invest in networks to accommodate peak demand during the holiday season, while the latter, whose citizens tend to go abroad for holidays, want lower caps to networks in southern destinations.