The Commission for Communications Regulation said it wishes to work closely with other EU Commission Regulators on the issue of international roaming in an effort to benefit consumers who use their mobile phones when abroad.
ComReg said that cross-border roaming is an important issue to the island of Ireland as recently identified in the policy directions issued by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern.
Mr Ahern said his goal was to minimise cross border roaming and other charges on the island of Ireland for mobile phone users, particularly those who live close to the border. He said he wanted to encourage national call charging on an all-island basis.
After consultations with Eircom, Meteor, O2 and Vodafone, ComReg today published an information document which outlined the steps it will take in dealing with international roaming.
These include exploring how best to work with the mobile operators and the UK's Oftel to encourage and support initiatives set out in the recent policy direction. It will also work with both the International Regulators Group and the European Regulators Group in their current study of the issue.
ComReg said it believes the best way to achieve greater competition in the roaming market is through a co-ordinated approach at a pan-European level.
