Wholesale Mobile Call Termination Review (second Consultation)
- Start: 01 April 2010
- Status: Closed
- End: 23 June 2010
When fixed and mobile operators offer their customers the ability to call UK mobile numbers, they pay mobile communications providers a wholesale charge to complete those calls. The rates that operators pay are called 'mobile call termination' (MCT) charges or more commonly 'mobile termination rates' (MTRs).
On 31 March 2011, the rules which limit MTRs will expire. We are conducting a market review to consider what rules, if any, should apply after that time. This consultation sets out our proposals for a new MTR regime, running from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2015.
The mobile sector is changing, in ways that are relevant to this market review. Mobile services connect a growing number of users to the internet, and users are as likely to send messages as to make telephone calls. These changes affect the question of what MTRs are likely to lead to the best outcomes for consumers, and whether regulation is needed to achieve this.
In our earlier consultation (published on 20 May 2009), we sought views on different approaches, including potentially radical reforms such as removing all rules on call termination or requiring that mobile call termination be priced at zero (termed 'bill and keep'). In this consultation, we explain why, having considered the options, we think that capping MTRs, based on some measure of cost, will lead to better outcomes for consumers than these alternative approaches.
Main documents
Supporting documents
Responses
| Responder name | Type |
|---|---|
| Asda.pdf (PDF File, 28.6 KB) | Organisation |
| B_Christopher_Conboy.pdf (PDF File, 33.3 KB) | Organisation |
| BT.pdf (PDF File, 846.4 KB) | Organisation |
| Cable_Wireless_Worldwide.pdf (PDF File, 91.0 KB) | Organisation |
| CMA.pdf (PDF File, 1.4 MB) | Organisation |