Brussels, 23/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has called on the Danish telecoms regulator, IT-og Telestyrelsen (NITA), to align the mobile termination rates (MTRs: wholesale prices which mobile operators charge other fixed and mobile operators for connecting incoming calls to subscribers located on their networks) of the smallest mobile operator, Barablu, with those of the other mobile companies. Denmark currently has five operators providing mobile phone services. Four of them (TDC, Telenor, TeliaSonera and Hi3G) are network operators have built their own networks, while Barablu is a virtual network operator providing mobile phone services to its customers using other operators' networks. In its current proposal NITA, claiming the absence of a cost model developed for calculating the mobile termination rates of virtual network operators, determines Barablu's prices on the basis of a comparison to the rates applied by three other virtual network operators in neighbouring Nordic countries. This methodology allows Barablu to charge higher rates than the four network operators. NITA has proposed revision of this model and setting obligations, including price control, on all operators, without exception. The Commission welcomed NITA's proposal and invited the regulator to take due account of its Recommendation on Termination Rates (see EUROPE 9897). (I.L./transl.rt)