Reding would OK charges to receive mobile calls
Double bubble for squeaking operators
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EU commissioner Viviane Reding would let mobile operators charge subscribers to receive calls as part of her effort to overhaul the European telecoms sector.
Reding told the FT that she was prepared to countenance a shift to a US-style pricing regime as the cost of pushing down termination charges, which she says distort the telecoms market as a whole.
Reding has already forced operators to cut voice roaming charges, and now has text and data roaming charges in her sights as well.
But according to the FT, operators claim Reding’s relentless drive to push termination charges down could force them to hike mobile charges, with at least one predicting that operators would start charging customers to receive calls as well as make them.
This is the model in the US, where the thousands of minutes included in monthly packages seem less attractive when you consider you’ll be chewing through them just by accepting a call, as well as making calls.
Asked by the FT whether she would let this shift happen, Reding said: ”Why not?”
Reding told the paper that the market was continuing to develop, and there was no reason to stick with existing pricing models just for the sake of it.
“I think the business models are not for the European commissioner to decide. Business models are for the operators to decide,” she said.
Operators might welcome such sentiments, but Europeans who suddenly find their minute allowances effectively halved might decide the Irish attitude to the EU has something to recommend it. ®
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COMMENTS
Piece of nonsense...
I receive a lot of calls on my personal mobile from my company (my Orange phone has better reception than the company issue O2 phone in our remote area of the country). Because we use a fixed line telephone network built by British Rail, which does not transmit CLID externally, I cannot differentiate calls from my employers offices to those which are from marketing/nuisance callers. Therefore I answer all unknown origin calls, hanging up quickly if its a marketing call.
Why should I be charged for that privilege? I also wouldn't expect my employer to upgrade its entire fixed line telephone network just to gain CLID.
If this happens (which I doubt it would), then I think all calls on my phone would be diverted to voicemail, unless I happen to be in a Wi-Fi hotspot.
I'm starting to think the Irish had the right idea......
What's the big deal?
I wish people would sit back and think occasionally.
If they start charging us the termination fee to receive calls, the following will happen:
Our subscription costs will go down because our operators will no longer be charged termination fees when we call mobiles on other operators (their own subscribers will be paying them) -- OR -- the amount of free minutes we get every month will be increased. I can't see anything wrong with either scenario.
The cost of calls to other numbers on the same network should also come down.
What we *would* need to see, though, is an easy way for us to know exactly which operator we're calling.
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