Disqus
Only yesterday did I report on the somewhat confusing statement from the European Commissioner regarding RPP (receiving party pays), but now we have more TLAs (three letter abbreviations) flying at us – now it’s MTRs, or Mobile Termination Rates… read on to see why although a 70% cut sounds good, it could actually mean things will be more expensive. And yes, the pic is of European Commissioner Viviane Reding again…
MTRs are essentially the feeds that mobile operators charge for handling each others’ calls – Vivian Reding has said she wants to bring these fees down overall – “levelling the playing field” right across Europe. These fees by the way, comprise about 20% of an MNOs revenues – that kind of drop means the money is going to have to be found from somewhere (yes, this story is going exactly where you think it is…)
However, the GSMA (industry lobby which represents operators) has said that national regulators are better placed to set the MTRs, since these varied widely across Europe.
In addition, Vodafone, has said that they make about 15-20bn Euros per year from the MTRs, and as such the operators would not be able to suck up all the reduction – which quite simply means that the cost of owning a mobile phone (i.e. line rental) could well go up. 3 have also thrown their hat in to the discussion and said that they think the lowering of MTRs will be a good thing, as it will make the industry more competitive for new entrants …
So really a variety of views on the subject – what the reality will be is a different question!
The European Commission (the EU’s executive arm) will formally adopt the guidelines in the autumn and EU states are obliged to apply them or explain whey they are not doing so. The new methodology will be phased in by 2011.
[Via: Reuters]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
