www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Spanish telecoms regulator CMT has given approval to a cut in mobile termination rates by 40-50% which will be implemented gradually over two and a half years from October.
The regulator reportedly said that in the case of dominant operator Telefonica, Vodafone and Orange the cut will be 40%, while the reduction will be 50% for Yoigo.
On 07.31.09, In Mobile, By Editor
On 06.24.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT), telecoms regulator of Spain has released its proposals for the continued reduction of mobile termination rates (MTRs), media reports. The CMT is proposing that MTRs for all four network operators, including relatively new entrant Xfera Moviles (Yoigo), will be slashed to EUR0.04 (USD0.06) by October 2011.
The regulator has said that the rate will be reduced gradually over a two-year period, with the first reduction expected in October 2009; Telefonica Moviles Espana (Movistar), Vodafone Spain and Orange Espana will initially drop their rates by EUR0.0075 while Yoigo would face a reduction of between EUR0.015 and EUR0.012.
CMT Chairman Reinaldo Rodriguez, has stated though that he believes there is still room to lower prices in the coming years. The operators have been given opportunity to have their say on the proposals before the final ruling is made by the regulator.
On 05.15.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: MCA, the Maltese telecommunication authority has declared new mobile termination rates, MTR, will be applicable to all mobile operators as of 15 June 2009. The MCA has decided to set the MTRs in accordance with the average yearly percentage reduction in the EU 27 average MTR. According to the MCA’s decision Vodafone Malta and Go will have to charge an MTR of EUR 0.0866 as the new MTR from 15 June 2009 until 15 June 2010. The present MTR of EUR 0.0962 will be applicable until 14 June.
On 04.27.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 3 Ireland will slash its Mobile Termination Rates (MTR) from the beginning of January 2010. Ireland’s Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) ordered Hutchison 3G Ireland (3 Ireland) to reduce wholesale rates for voice call termination on its network, in December 2008. ComReg has already imposed a price control on 3 to address its position of dominance in the provision of call termination services to end-subscribers. Every Year, operators of Ireland will cut termination rates on 1 Jan, down to an average rate of EUR 0.05 per minute by 1 January 2013.
On 04.20.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Ireland’s three mobile operators, Vodafone, O2 and Meteor, have agreed on lowering the mobile termination rates by 47% over a period of three years to EUR0.05. From 1April’10, Vodafone and O2’s MTR will drop to EUR0.078 whereas Meteor will reduce its MTR to EUR0.094, and the trio will further reduce network interconnection tariffs in stages, with Vodafone and O2’s MTRs dropping to EUR0.05 on 1 April 2012 and Meteor’s MTRs reaching that rate on 1 October 2012.
ComReg, the Irish regulator, anticipates that the mobile operators will pass on their wholesale savings to end-users.
On 04.14.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Polish mobile market is likely to shrink for the first time in 2009 driven by aggressive mobile termination rate cuts by the regulator along with the global recession, Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, head of TPSA’s PTK Centertel reportedly said.
“I think that due to MTR (mobile termination rate) cuts, the fall in revenue for the whole Polish mobile market will equal 2.0-2.5 billion zlotys this year,” she said.
“It will be extremely hard to compensate for that… If the market ends this year flat, excluding the MTR effect, it would be very good. Taking MTRs into account, the value of the mobile market should fall by a few percent,” she further revealed.
On 04.06.09, In Mobile, By Editor
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: British telecoms regulator Ofcom has reportedly ruled that mobile termination rates (MTRs) are slashed up to 21%.
As per the new rule, both Vodafone and O2 will cut their average mobile termination rates to GBP0.0471 (USD0.0687) per minute, a cut of 8.4% adjusted for inflation. Moreover, Orange will also reduce its rates by 11.1 % to GBP0.0484 per minute. 3, owned by Hutchison Whampoa will have to cut MTR to GBP0.0583 per minute, a 20.9% cut. This rule is driven by the regulator’s implementation of price controls for the next two years. The regulator is planning to equalize by the end of March 2011, and a further reduction in the rates is expected next year.
On 01.26.09, In Mobile, By Editor
British Mobile Operators like Vodafone UK, T-Mobile and O2 may cut termination rates (MTR), following a ruling by the Competition Commission. In a submission to the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) the Competition Commission has upheld an appeal by BT Group against regulator Ofcom. The submission recommends for a reduction of termination rates, it suggests that the charges for connections to the networks of O2, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile should be slashed to GBP0.04 (USD0.06) by 2010/11. Ofcom proposed for a charge of GBP0.051. The Competition Commission has also recommended charges for connecting to the network of Hutchison Whampoa-owned 3 UK be reduced to GBP0.44 by the same date, against Ofcom’s GBP0.059 suggestion. CAT will take this proposal into consideration and the next case-management conference in the appeals process is anticipated on 2nd February 2009.
On 10.14.08, In Mobile, By Editor
3 UK, is launching a £15/month all-you-can-eat-tariff for and among 3 subscribers. The new tariff shows how low termination rates can affect the mobile pricing.
3’s CEO Kevin Russell unviels that the new tariff plan will offer unlimited calls, text and data package among 3 subscribers commencing from November 1 and also plans to come out with a cross network all-you-can-eat package for £25/month, but only if termination rates are reduced.
Russell said: ‘Wouldn’t it be a good thing if we could say “here’s your unlimited voice, unlimited text and unlimited data for £25?” We could do that if we brought down termination rates.
3 claims to have paid £190Mn to its larger operator rivals in termination fees.
‘I’m currently charging 8p per minute for voice, but I could do it for 2p. The only thing stopping that is mobile termination rates.’ Russell adds.
3 is fighting for low termination rates and is being supported by Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner, who calls the MTRs as ‘a real distortion of competition’.
On 10.10.08, In Mobile, By Editor
3UK reveals it’s all new unlimited tariff plan to circumvent from the inflated MTRs.
The new tariff will commence from November 1 allowing the subscribers to make unlimited calls and send unlimited texts to other 3 UK users for £15 per month, bundled with 1GB of data per month, though 3UK will still have to pay MTR.
“The only thing we can’t include is a shed-load of off-net minutes,” says Kevin Russell, CEO 3 UK, who also conceded that urging subscribers to keep all their mobile activities on 3’s network “goes against our fundamental approach to running an open network”.
“We will not charge our customers to receive calls, pure and simple, that is something we would sign up to formally – there is absolutely no need to charge people to receive calls,” he added.
Russell explains that as the most recent entrant to the U.K. mobile market, with a low subscriber base, it tends to loose higher proportion of traffic termination outside its network, leading to higher termination fees of £190 million in last five years, and further making it hard to compete on price for voice and text services.
“The reality is we have £190 million less in our bank account than the rest of the industry, which has £190 million more that they can use to compete against us,” Russell concluded.