German operator opposes paid roaming

It is rare to hear telephone operators admit that industry tariffs are too high, but this is what René Schuster, the general director of the German operator Telefónica Germany, did on Wednesday.

“Let me be one of the first leaders in our industry to recognize that the industry really missed the opportunity to become a champion for a client,” said Schuster in an interview with Ina Fried from AllThingsD at the DLDWomen conference in Munich.
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"I think that by 2014-2015, roaming in Europe will be free," said Schuster. "I think it would be better for everyone."

Paid roaming may have made sense once, Schuster said, but "it is not justified further, and the industry will change." Schuster noted that his company made some tariffs free for its customers who use networks of competitors, and also welcomed the fact that European regulators took up roaming.

Responding to a question about the biggest upcoming changes, Schuster pointed to the transformation of the smartphone into a digital wallet: “You will probably see the death of a credit card within the next three to four years. Many purchases will be made through mobile phones. ”

By the decision of the European Parliament since July 1 of this year, the use of roaming throughout the European Union has become much cheaper . The European Deputy Robert Goebbels, who lobbied for this decision, said in May: “Downloading the amount of information that now costs 2–3 euros will cost only 20 cents, and with time - even less. The same goes for talking on a cell phone. ”

The parliament also demanded that the European Commission establish a single tariff for mobile calls throughout the EU by 2016. Commentators have noted that this will not undermine the competition, but will weaken the dominance of four operators in the European market.