The Austrian regulator RTR proposed higher price caps for calls originating in countries which have not brought termination rates down in line with the EU Recommendation on Termination Rates. As the only criterion for setting a higher rate is the origin of the call, the Commission doubts that the measure is in line with the non-discrimination principle and that it fosters an internal market.
Austria has implemented the EU recommended model on the termination rates, which brought down the prices of the fixed and mobile termination rates. According to the Austrian regulator, RTR, Austrian operators have significant traffic flows with some of the Member States that have not implemented the recommended model, and where such rates are much higher. RTR claims that, in practice, this means that Austrian operators get charged higher termination rates by the operators in the other EEA countries, while at the same time they can only charge relatively low Austrian fees for equivalent volumes of equivalent services. In order to prevent further financial losses for Austrian operators, RTR proposes to allow them to charge a rate which corresponds to the one applied by operators in countries which have not implemented the Recommendation. The Commission is of the view that the proposed measure would violate the EU's non-discrimination principle as envisaged under the freedom to provide services, would deepen existing barriers in the internal market, and would only serve to worsen the current problem of termination rates asymmetries.
The Commission now has three months to discuss the case with RTR, in close cooperation with the body of European regulators (BEREC), to make it compliant with EU law. The Commission may, at the end of the investigation period, either lift its reservations or issue a Recommendation under Article 7a of the Framework Directive, asking the NRA to withdraw or amend the measure.
The termination rates are the rates telecom operators charge each other to deliver calls between networks, and each operator has the market power over access to customers on its own network. These costs are included in call prices paid by consumers and business. The 2009 Recommendation on Termination Rates aims at harmonizing these rates and bringing them down to a cost-efficient level. Whilst largely successful, some divergences, however, remain across the EU. In this respect, on 15 March the Commission launched a public consultation which aims to evaluate the impact of the Recommendation, to assess whether to maintain or amend it and to evaluate whether further action at EU level is needed to pursue the policy objectives of promoting competition, EU citizens' interests and developing the internal market.
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