Mobile call costs set to drop

Ofcom, the communications watchdog, has announced that the UK’s mobile operators will be forced to slash their mobile termination rates (MTRs), a move that should see the cost of mobile calls fall.

From 1 April, MTRs will be cut from 4.18 pence per minute for most operators to 2.66ppm. By 2014/15, that will drop further to just 0.69ppm.

MTRs are the wholesale charges that mobile operators make to other operators to connect calls to their networks.

Currently, 3 is allowed to charge slightly more than others, but from April the cap on its MTRs will be the same as other operators'.

Industry groups, such as the BT and 3-backed Terminate the Rate campaign, welcomed the announcement.

“Lower mobile termination rates are better for consumers,” said a campaign spokesman.

But he questioned why the cuts were being staged over several years. “Why can’t those benefits be realised sooner,” he added.

Ofcom had argued that mobile operators would be able to absorb the price cuts as data services account for increasing proportions of their revenue.

That could be bad news for businesses, which may see savings made on mobile voice calls wiped out by data charges.