Reductions in mobile termination charges by Vodafone, O2, and Meteor

Davy

Vodafone, O2 and Meteor are to reduce their Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs) over the next three years, which in theory should be passed on to consumers. See the dates of decreases below. Note this are wholesale rates.

Would be like Ecb lowering rates, and then banks may or may not pass on to consumers, a basic comparison.

A mobile termination rate is a wholesale charge levied by a mobile operator to terminate a call of another network operator (fixed or mobile) on their network. Vodafone, O2 and Meteor have now committed to further reduce their MTRs to a maximum per minute price of 5 Cent by 2012. This represents a cumulative decrease in excess of 47% for average Irish MTRs.


It is important that these reductions at the wholesale level are passed on: this should ultimately bring benefits to both fixed and mobile customers. Additionally, ComReg considers that these reductions will ensure that Ireland’s mobile termination rates remain competitive.


Vodafone, O2 and Meteor have all indicated their intention to further reduce their blended4 MTRs to a symmetrical maximum rate per minute of 5.00 Euro Cent over a three year period. Vodafone and O2 propose to reduce their blended rate to a maximum rate per minute of 5.00 Euro Cent in a stepped approach by 1 April 2012 and Meteor propose to reduce their blended rate to a maximum rate per minute of 5.00 Euro Cent in a stepped approach by 1 October 2012. The proposed glidepath reductions for Vodafone, O2 and Meteor are set out in Table 1.


Table 1: Target blended maximum MTRs (€ cent)
Operator | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2012 |
| 1 April | 1 October | 1 April | 1 October | 1 April 1 |October|
Vodafone |7.80 | | 7.00 | | 5.00|
O2 | 7.80 | | 7.00 | | 5.00 |
Meteor | 9.40 | 8.80 | 7.90 | 7.50 | 5.60 | 5.00


This should result in additional significant savings for consumers for mobile off-net calls and fixed to mobile calls, in the order of €100 million over the three year period, from 2010.

ComReg reserves the right to intervene if these reductions are not delivered or if material variances arise between the Irish average MTR and the EU average.

towel401

if the uber recession hasn't wiped em all out by 2012

Davy

H3GI has indicated to ComReg its intention to reduce its blended MTRs to a symmetrical
maximum rate per minute of 5 cent by 1 January 2013 in a stepped approach

| 1 Jan 2009 | 1 Jan 2010 | 1 Jan 2011 | 1 Jan 2012 | 1 Jan 2013 |
H3GI’s MTRs |12.98 | 12.43 | 10.85 | 8.75 | 5.00