Brussels slams high UK mobile charges

Mobile phone customers in Britain are being overcharged for calls to other networks because regulators have failed to crack down on operators clawing back the vast sums spent on acquiring 3G licences, the European Commission said on 27 November 2006.

In a letter sent to the Office of Communications ("Ofcom", the UK telecom watchdog), the European Commission expresses concerns as to how wholesale tariffs, charged by the five UK mobile operators for terminating calls to their customers, have been assessed. In the Commission’s view, Ofcom's proposed tariffs keep termination values higher than necessary due to 3G spectrum cost valuations which risk overestimating the costs. The Commission therefore asks the UK watchdog to reconsider the valuations. OFCOM’s approach would be detrimental to fair competition in the UK's mobile market and lead to higher consumer prices for consumers.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.

European Commission: Press Release: IP/06/1628: Telecommunications: Commission asks UK regulator not to include inflated 3G auction costs in termination rates for mobile phone operators http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1628&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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