22.12.2017

“We propose lowering mobile termination rates starting 1 May 2018, from 0.96 eurocents/minute to 0.84 eurocents/minute. These rates are to be applied until ANCOM completes the new pure LRIC costing model. The Authority's decision comes as a result of the dialogue with the European Commission on this issue, but also because the current costing model does not include the 4G/LTE technology, which is gaining ground in Romania, bringing efficiency gains”, declared Sorin Grindeanu, president of ANCOM.

Mobile termination rates

Building a new costing model to reflect the efficient costs of providing termination services at mobile locations and allow the calculation of rates that shlould be perfectly adapted to the Romanian market is a long-term process. Therefore, ANCOM proposes - as a transitional measure - a rate determined by European benchmarking. The rate thus set by the Authority is the average of the mobile termination rates established in the Member States of the European Union on the basis of a pure LRIC costing model, which provides adequate grounding for such a temporary measure until the rates based on incremental costs are calculated through a new costing model.

Thus, from 1 May 2018, the call termination rate to be charged by the five mobile operators with significant power on the market for call termination on their own networks (Lycamobile SRL - full mobile virtual network operator, Orange Romania SA, RCS & RDS SA, Telekom Romania Mobile Communications SA and Vodafone Romania SA) will be 0.84 eurocents/minute, excluding VAT.

The proposed solution addresses the European Commission’s observations and also has the advantage that it can be implemented faster than developing a new costing model (at least 18 months).

In 2018, ANCOM will initiate the procedure of developing a new pure LRIC costing model to reflect the efficient costs of providing mobile termination services, in line with the principles of the European Commission's Recommendation on termination rates.

Relevant wholesale markets

Following the European consultation conducted between October and November 2017, ANCOM re-notified and received the favorable opinion of the European Commission on measures to identify the wholesale relevant markets for mobile call termination services. Thus, ANCOM issued Decision no. 1085/2017 on the identification of relevant markets in the electronic communications sector for mobile call termination services.

Through this decision, ANCOM identified five relevant wholesale markets for mobile call termination on public telephony networks. For all these markets, the Authority maintains, or imposes, as appropriate, obligations related to the identified competition issues, such as transparency, non-discrimination, pricing control and cost-orientation oligations (including the maintenance of termination rates symmetry) as well as the obligation to allow access to and use of specific network elements and of the associated infrastructure.

Public consultation

The rates for mobile call termination on public telephony networks are available, on ANCOM’s website, here. The interested persons are invited to submit their comments and suggestions, by 31.01.2018, at the ANCOM headquarters (2 Delea Noua Street, Bucharest 3), directly to the ANCOM Registry Office or by means of the ANCOM regional divisions. Comments may also be sent by fax to +40 372 845 402 or by e-mail to consultare@ancom.org.ro.