Price Controls on Mobile Phones Threatened in Australia

Profit margins are already dropping, but it's an easy political gesture

Australia and New Zealand are considering legislation to prevent mobile carriers gouging customers when they use their phones overseas.

Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, and New Zealand's Minister for Communications and Information Technology Amy Adams MP (not the actress), today jointly launched a draft paper on roaming charges, based on traffic and revenue information provided by the two nations' mobile operators for the calendar years 2009-2011, as well as an expert study prepared by the consultancy firm WIK-Consult.