Monday, May 25, 2009

Austria: European Commission supports the NRA is reducing mobile termination rates

[ec] The European Commission has voiced its support for efforts of the Austrian telecoms regulator, Telekom-Control-Kommission (TKK), to bring mobile termination rates (MTRs) – wholesale charges mobile operators charge other operators for connecting calls on their networks – to more competitive levels. In a letter sent at the end of last week, the Commission agreed that bringing MTRs to levels closer to what it costs to efficiently connect calls will tackle potential market distortions between phone operators. Boosting competition will help lower call prices for consumers and support innovation and investment across Austria's telecoms sector. However, because TKK has yet to bring its methodology in line with the approach recommended by the Commission earlier this month, its approach might not be effective in other countries with different competitive characteristics, further underlining the need for a common European approach to setting termination rates.

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