Bundesnetzagentur announces final mobile termination rates
Date of issue 2013.07.19
The Bundesnetzagentur today announced the final rates for the termination of calls to the mobile networks run by German mobile network operators. A uniform rate of 1.85 cent/min is payable retroactively from 1 December 2012. On 1 December 2013 the rate will again decrease - the rate then payable will be 1.79 cent/min.
The aforementioned call termination rates had been approved on a provisional basis in mid-November 2012 because a national consultation and subsequently the EU Commission's opinion were required before a final decision could be taken. The procedure has now been completed.
At the end of June the EU Commission had asked the Bundesnetzagentur either to modify its decisions or to withdraw them and lower the rates even more. The reason for this was that the Bundesnetzagentur has not followed a EU Commission recommendation on the determination of termination rates.
The Bundesnetzagentur is adhering to its tested method of calculating the rates on the basis of the costs of an efficient operator. The cost calculation method recommended by the EU Commission is not better suited to Germany for achieving the regulatory goals set out in the Telecommunications Act, among them being the need to safeguard the interestst of consumers and to ensure fair competition, and for promoting sustainable investment. The EU Commission does not have the power to veto the Bundesnetzagentur's decision.
The rate decisions will remain in force until 30 November 2014.