Forcing Manx mobile phone providers to not pass on roaming charges for islanders when they travel away could result in higher bills for everyone.

That was the warning from Communications Commission chairman Bill Malarkey.

He was asked in Tynwald by Lawrie Hooper (LibVannin, Ramsey) why the commission could not force providers in the Isle of Man to cut roaming charges for users when they travel off-island.

Mr Malarkey said: ’When you are roaming off island you are roaming at another user’s rate and that user will then charge the island’s supplier, whether that be Sure or Manx Telecom, at the rate they want.

’It is then down to the Isle of Man user, such as Sure or Manx Telecom, as to whether they pass that on to the consumer.’

He added: ’What the member is suggesting is that maybe Manx Telecom and Sure should absorb these rates that they are being charged - by the French telecommunication or the Spanish telecommunication into the bills - in which case what you would find is that the actual bills for using your Manx Telecom or your Sure phone would actually go up, as they have had to absorb these roaming costs within.’

Mr Malarkey welcomed developments that mean some visitors to the Isle of Man no longer incur roaming charges when they visit, as a knock-on from an EU agreement to end roaming charges.

’The recent development by the UK mobile operators, such as Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three, to choose to include the Isle of Man in their European roaming package is good news for Island tourists and businesses alike.’