§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the response of mobile phone operators to the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges, seeking to reduce their charges; [100091]
(2) what assessment she has made of the effect of the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges on the rollout of third generation mobile phones; [100094]
(3) what assessment she has made of the impact of implementing the Competition Commission's proposals on mobile phone charges on the mobile phone operators in the United Kingdom. [100090]
§ Mr. TimmsThis is a matter for the Competition Commission. The report itself is currently subject to judicial review. The Competition Commission is independent from Government.
All mobile operators across Europe are facing financial constraints due to the overall state of the industry.
However the UK will be the first major market in Europe to roll out 3G with all five operators still on track to launch in 2003. This is in marked contrast to other European markets where operators have postponed their 3G launch—Orange for example have delayed their 3G roll-out across Europe except in the UK—and this is a vindication of the Government's policy in bringing in a new entrant to increase competition.