Brussels, 18/11/2008 (Agence Europe) - Corrado Calabrò, the president of the Italian telecoms regulator AGCOM (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni), offered important commitments to EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding to bring the regulation of mobile termination rates in Italy into line with European law. “If fully implemented, these commitments could end concerns of Commissioner Reding on the level and partial asymmetry of mobile termination rates in Italy,” the Commission says in a press release.
In a letter sent on Monday, the Commission had asked AGCOM to review its proposed price caps on mobile termination rates for Telecom Italia, Vodafone, WIND and H3G Italia which were considered not in line with the principles of cost orientation and effective competition. In Brussels last Thursday for discussions with Commissioner Reding on rates and competition, Calabrò was confident after the meeting. “We have presented today a balanced long term regulatory strategy on mobile termination rates that will give stability to the mobile sector in Italy and at the same time provide increasing benefits in terms of decreasing consumer prices,” he said. Italy proposes: - by 2010, to develop and adopt a cost by in line with the forthcoming Commission recommendation; - to implement full symmetry of mobile termination rates by 2012; - to lower the 2011 rates from 5.9 eurocent to 5,3 eurocent for the three incumbents and from 7.0 eurocent to 6.3 eurocent for H3G Italia; - to achieve full symmetry in 2012 at the level of 4.5 eurocents (with the possibility of further downward revision if the forthcoming recommendation calls for it); - to revise in 2010 the values applicable in the year 2011-2012 on the basis of the “long-run incremental cost” model developed in accordance with the forthcoming Commission recommendation. Having observed that member states apply somewhat different rules which cannot simply be explained by national circumstances, the Commission, in June, published a draft recommendation on the regulatory treatment of fixed and mobile termination rates (see EUROPE 9691). The recommendation is due to be adopted before the end of the year and to come into force before the end of 2011. (I.L./transl.rt)