Wholesale mobile termination rates create distortions in the market between mobile networks and fixed networks and generate annual net transfers of 110 million euros. The accounts are from Anacom that presented the final version of the plan to reduce these mobile termination rates.
The measures, which will be gradually introduced until October next year, will allow a cost reduction of around 67 million euros, to be borne by operators but which will have an impact on the consumer price. This year alone, charges are expected to fall by 17 million euros, Anacom said.
The rules imposed by the regulator for the so-called market 16 will grant Optimus an additional adaptation period of two quarters, and allow the mobile operator with the least number of customers to benefit throughout the transition period from the possibility of charging higher prices for calls terminated on your network.
The first price change takes place as of the 15th of July and changes the prices for TMN and Vodafone to 0.08 euros per minute, setting the prices for calls terminated on the Optimus network at 0.096 euros per minute. There will be new changes in October, January 2009, April, July and October, when the three operators will have to charge equal prices, of 0.065 euros per minute.
Prices will remain different between operators until October 2009, in addition to which TMN and Vodafone enter 0.065 euros in April and Optimus only arrives there in October. At this point the regulation for wholesale termination rates, which are also in the sights of the European Commission, will be reassessed.
TMN and Vodafone have already responded, both to the drop in termination rates and to the assimilation allowed to Optimus. This price difference had already existed and was again proposed in Anacom’s draft decision for the termination rate reduction plan, which is now known in a definitive version. Throughout the process, Vodafone and TMN made strong criticisms of the regulator’s intention, which did not invalidate the decision becoming final. Operators now promise to act to try to reverse the regulator’s decision.
The plan is considered too ambitious by operators who warn that the possibility of very low prices could compromise the operators’ innovation capacity.
Related News:
2008-06-26 – EC initiates process to lower mobile tariffs
