Any EU roaming action would be wholesale: Reding
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Any mandatory EU intervention to cut  the price of sending text messages or using the Internet while  traveling abroad would be limited to the wholesale level, the  European Union's top telecoms regulator said on Thursday.
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Its plan may be flawed, but at least Europe is taking action. What is the US willing to do?
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EU lawmakers endorsed a deal Wednesday to cap mobile phone roaming fees in the 27-nation bloc
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The European Commissioner in charge of the single market, Charlie McCreevy, said Thursday he is restarting a consultation with industry with the aim of simplifying the European Union&#39;s approach to copyright levies.The move comes 14 months after the Commission abandoned a similar effort, following pressure from France and from lobbying by the music and film industries.Levies are slapped on a wide range of machines, ranging from photocopiers and re-writeable CDs and DVDs to mobile phones and MP3 players, in varying degrees in the 27 different countries. Their aim is to compensate rights holders when their copyright-protected material is copied.Levies on MP3 players, for example range from nothing to &#8364;15 ($21) depending on the rules in different E.U. countries. McCreevy said the current system is &quot;incoherent&quot; but he played down hopes of a total overhaul of the status quo.&quot;What is the right level? There are no easy answers,&quot; he said, during a press conference as he announced a consultation that will run until April 18. After hearing back from industry and from consumer groups the Commission will hold a conference in June &quot;to see if there is common ground&quot; to streamline the current system. &quot;Last time I suspended the initiative because there was no hope then. Now it should be possible,&quot; he said.Gadget makers welcomed the move. &quot;As an industry, we fully support fair and proper compensation for artists, creators and other rightholders. Industry is not advocating for private copy levies to be abolished, but has repeatedly demonstrated that the current system of &#39;rough justice&#39; is opaque, unfair to consumers and industry, and does not fulfill the stated purpose of fairly remunerating right holders,&quot; said Mark MacGann, director General of EICTA, the organization that represents the information and communications technology and consumer electronics industries in Europe.According to EICTA, levies collection has more than tripled since 2001, when the E.U. passed a copyright law designed to suit the digital age. The law permitted copying of copyrighted works such as music for personal use, but allowed individual member states to set levels of levies to help compensate artists.McCreevy said he had no plans to overhaul this law. &quot;The directive allows member states to set levies. There are no plans to do away with this. We just want to get some realism.&quot; He added: &quot;Hopefully people will come [to the conference in June] with an open mind.&quot;Meanwhile, McCreevy announced a parallel initiative to extend the period of copyright protection for performing artists from 50 years to 90 years. Stars that performed other people&#39;s songs in the 1950s, as well as the session musicians of that time, are at risk of being completely cut off from airplay and recording royalties just as they reach retirement age, McCreevy said.Extending the copyright period by 40 years won&#39;t have any impact on the price of music, McCreevy said.Both copyright-related initiatives will require political approval from national E.U. governments.
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The European Commission has given mobile network operators until July 1 to cut the cost of using mobile data services while traveling abroad or face regulation.
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The amount consumers are charged for making mobile calls while abroad is to be investigated by EU regulators.
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BARCELONA, Spain  - Mobile phone operators must  act before July 1 to avoid the European Union imposing lower  prices for texting or surfing the Web via mobile phones when  abroad, the bloc's top telecoms regulator said on Monday.
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Looking to expand its offerings to European consumers, Warner Music International and Telefon AB Ericsson said Wednesday they plan to start distributing some of the label's artists music via mobile phone in Europe.
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Just in time for summer hols The EU has given the thumbs up to the Euro tariff for mobile phone roaming.â¦
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Britain lobbied against European Union plans to impose price caps on mobile phone roaming rates which were put into place earlier this year, The Times reported on Thursday.
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Plans to limit mobile phone call costs for consumers who travel abroad within Europe are attacked by the industry.
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Mobile operator expands roaming price cuts for regular voice services--but not data--across Europe.
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The European Commission renewed its  efforts on Tuesday to free up radio frequencies used by  broadcasters, mobile phone operators and navigation businesses.
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Apple's reportedly will announce deals to sell the iPhone in Europe this week. Carriers O2, Orange and T-Mobile are said to be giving huge portions of the usage fees back to Apple.
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The cost of making mobile phone calls in Europe is set to fall after lawmakers backed plans to cap roaming fees.
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European telecom regulator issues proposals that would let passengers use their handsets on European flights.
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European legislators hope that aÂ compromise agreementÂ to cap mobile phone roaming charges will become law before Europeans take their summer holidays. But a network operators' group warned to expect delays because even if the law takes effect as planned July 1, network operators won't have to offer the new tariffs until September.