Press Release: Telecoms: Commission invites Dutch regulator to bring calculation method for setting fixed termination rates in line with the EU approach

The European Commission, in a letter sent on 5 November 2009, asked the Dutch telecoms regulator, Onafhankelijke Post en Telecommunicatie Autoriteit (OPTA), to align its cost accounting method for calculating fixed termination rates with the approach recommended by EU guidelines, adopted on 7 May 2009. Call termination charges, which the operator of the calling network pays to the operator of the receiving network, should be based on the current costs of an efficient operator employing efficient technology. Until now, OPTA's specific calculation model includes costs that should not be attributed to the provision of call termination services. The resulting above-cost regulated termination rates may limit the benefits of competition and encourage operators charge consumers too much.