Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Termination rates are already falling - so why all the fuss?

Mark Bridge writes:

With over 100,000 people having signed its petition in four months, there’s no denying that the Terminate The Rate campaign is attracting supporters. And with promises including “BT and 3 are working together on a petition that will lower your phone bill by reducing the level of Mobile Termination Rates”, it’s easy to see why.

But what’s the point of all the campaigning - and has it really achieved anything?  Terminate The Rate – which is run by 3 UK – says mobile networks charge a Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) of around 4.7p per minute for connecting a call to another network. That’s a lot of money over the course of a year. But those networks also pay that 4.7p when calls are connected to them, which cancels out a fair bit of it. Now, I don’t doubt there are some profits in there. But, to be frank, I don’t see much real consumer benefit in cutting termination rates. It seems to me that any profits lost from MTRs would simply be generated from increased charges elsewhere. Even if new tariffs offered ‘more value’ they’d be likely to cost more. Regulators have even suggested that we could cut MTRs and then pay to receive calls. Do I hear the sound of a lead balloon going down?

And I’ll confess I’m suspicious of 3’s volte-face; arguing in favour of increased MTRs when it suited and then arguing against them when it didn’t get its way.

Okay, so none of us likes spending money when we don't see a benefit – but talking about “bill shock” and a “a secret tax on consumers” is more like tabloid rhetoric than an informative campaign.

And some of the campaign supporters seem to be sending confused messages, too. For example, the Plain English Campaign said “Consumers deserve the right to understand complex issues that affect them in the simplest possible terms and we support any organisation that strives to do this” – which seems to suggest it would just as happily support an increase in termination rates if the organisers had a ‘Crystal Mark’ on their literature. There’s also plenty of talk from organisations about supporting the campaign because it’ll reduce charges – although that's certainly not guaranteed.

I was pleased to see that Martin ‘Money Saving Expert’ Lewis was, like me, unconvinced by the campaign. He told us “We’ve decided not to back the Terminate the rate campaign for the time being. As the decision was in the balance we put it to our users and the majority weren’t in favour of doing so. This is an important issue and one to look at, though we’re not fully convinced a campaign run by a big mobile phone network which is in its own vested interest is the right way to go forward”. And that makes me wonder how many other organisations had also declined to join 3 and BT’s party.

Terminate The Rate plans to give its petition to Ofcom later this month. And then what?  Perhaps my biggest complaint about the campaign is that, even before it launched, the European Commission had told Ofcom and other European regulators to make sure MTRs reflected actual costs. And MTRs are already set to drop next year. Which suggests everything’s in hand. And in 2011, when the current charges are reviewed, we’ll probably see a decent-sized drop in MTRs... which would have happened regardless of any campaign.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: OpinionNumber of views: 37786

Tags:

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

Podcast - 14th January 2009

This week's edition of The Fonecast previews the MOTO W233 Renew, which is made from recycled plastic bottles. Plus, as usual, we'll be taking our regular look at the latest news headlines from the mobile industry.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 7th January 2009

In this week's edition of The Fonecast we welcome 2009 with a review of the top stories from 2008. And, as usual, we'll also be taking a look at the current mobile news headlines from the industry.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 17th December 2008

We bid farewell to 2008 in this week's edition of The Fonecast. As well as our usual look at the latest mobile news we also predict what'll be hitting the headlines in 2009... and we revisit our predictions from 12 months ago.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 10th December 2008

In The Fonecast this week we talk to Chris Caudle from the IMPDA about his criticisms of O2 and his hopes for the industry's future in 2009. There's also a preview of the Android-powered Kogan Agora Pro and our usual off-beat look at the latest mobile headlines.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast - 3rd December 2008

In The Fonecast this week we're talking to Kari Rantanen, who is director of sales and marketing for Nokia's new Smart Home Program. There's a look at mobile industry headlines from the last seven days and a quick preview of the young-at-heart Samsung Tobi handset.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First8182838486888990Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement