The European Commission has called a halt to plans by the German telecom regulator (BNetzA) that would have required operators to impose mobile termination rates (MTR) more than 80 per cent higher than in many other EU member states.
The Commission took the action fearing that allowing these higher rates would trigger mobile operators in Germany to pass the cost on to the phone user, either by increasing their contract tariff or the price associated with each call, according to an EU statement.
The EU informed BNetzA that its proposals, first filed in January, breach the formal recommendation on MTR set out in 2009 as part of EU telecoms legislation.
European Commission VP Neelie Kroes said: "The vast majority of Member States play ball and are now applying EU telecoms rules in a coordinated way that brings maximum benefit to consumers and to competition. German operators should not be given special treatment."
BNetzA now has three months to work with the EU Commission, as well as the body of European telecoms regulators (BEREC), to come up with a solution.
For more:
- see this EU Commission statement
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