The European Commission is taking steps to change the termination fees, which are the amounts mobile operators charge each other to use their networks. The plan is that by 2011 those figures will be harmonized across Europe, as opposed to the national fees currently enacted – currently 27 different ones. The belief is that this will result in lower call costs for consumers.
These termination fees are nine times higher for mobiles than for landlines, according to the BBC, ranging from two Euro cents a minute in Cyprus to 18 Euro cents a minute in Bulgaria. The estimate is that by bringing all these fees into line, calls could become 70% cheaper.
