50% reduction in MTRs proposed by Belgian regulator

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: To increase competition in the wireless sector and reduce the cost of calls to consumers, the mobile network operators of Belgium has been asked by the country’s telecoms regulator, the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications (BIPT) to halve mobile termination rates (MTRs). The operators have six weeks to respond to the regulator’s proposals.

50% cut in MTRs, far steeper than the 20% reduction has been recommended by the regulator. It is now widely expected that all three operators, Proximus (Belgacom Mobile), Mobistar and BASE, will appeal the decision.

Regulation of mobile interconnection rates had been proposed by BIPT in March 2006, and while the charges have been cut by around 50% since that date, the levels remain different for each of the three operators.