EC insists on a reduction in interconnection tariffs

Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding will submit a recommendation in this respect in June, according to her spokesman, Martin Selmayer, for Business Standard.

Last November, Reding asked telecom operators to find a “common approach” regarding interconnection tariffs, which currently vary from one operator to another.

“The recommendation will be based on a study currently carried out by the European Regulators Group, whose results will be published this May,” Selmayer said.

He mentioned Romania as one of the countries with the lowest interconnection tariffs in Europe. “Such a recommendation would rather target operators on other telecom markets in the EU,” the spokesman added.

His statements come one year after the EC enforced a severe reduction in roaming tariffs for voice calls. Furthermore, Reding is insisting on a similar drop by June for roaming data transfer prices.

According to a study by Morgan Stanley, the lowering of interconnection tariffs is likely to lead to a drop of as much as 11 percent in income and EBITDA of telecom operators in the coming 3-4 years.