Press Release: Telecoms: European Commission calls on Czech telecoms watchdog to strengthen regulatory control on mobile termination

In a letter sent on 14 September 2009, the European Commission asked - for a second time - the Czech telecoms regulator, Český telekomunikační úřad (ČTÚ) to further reduce mobile termination rates (MTRs) in the Czech Republic. MTRs are the wholesale charges which mobile operators charge other operators for connecting calls on their networks. Despite the Commission's recent call on ČTÚ, in a letter sent at the end of 2008, to bring MTRs closer to efficient cost as soon as possible, the Czech regulator intends to maintain the MTR levels set in its previous decision. A new glide path aimed at approximating efficient costs in a swifter manner would, however, provide for a smoother transition to the approach set out in the Commission's Recommendation on Termination Rates, which asks all Member States to set MTRs at the level of the cost of an efficient operator by 31 December 2012. The Commission also regreted that less stringent obligations are imposed on the smallest operator, MobilKom. This may lead to market failures or disputes between operators if MobilKom decides to raise its own MTRs or to not terminate calls from other operators' networks.

ESO: Background Information: Telecoms: Commission acts on termination rates to boost competition http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-telecoms-commission-acts-on-termination-rates-to-boost-competition/

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