Regulator’s decision on termination rates to reduce mobile tariffs

TIRANA, March 25 – A decision by the Electronic and Postal Communication Authority, AKEP, to apply new cuts to mobile termination tariffs is expected to bring another decrease in mobile tariffs in the next two years. AKEP has ruled mobile termination tariffs, which are fees mobile companies charge other carriers to terminate calls on their networks will drop by 12 to 42 percent, starting April 2014. “By January 2016, mobile termination tariffs for the four operators will reach 1.48 lek/minute which is a decrease from 68 to 83 percent compared to the current termination rates.”
AKEP says the reduction in wholesale termination tariffs will give a positive impulse to the further increase of competition in Albania’s retail mobile market, especially for off-net calls, increasing the benefits of subscribers through lower tariffs.
The Electronic Communications Authority has ruled mobile termination tariffs will drop to 1.48 lek (Euro 0.01)/minute for all four mobile operators starting from 2016.
AKEP says that mobile termination tariffs for the two biggest operators, Vodafone and AMC, will drop to 3.03 lek/min starting March 2014 and to 1.48 lek in 2015 and 2016.
Interconnection rates for the two smaller operators, Eagle Mobile and Plus will become equal to Vodafone and AMC at 1.48 lek/min only in 2016.
Termination tariffs started lowering in March 2011 when they dropped to 8.85 lek/minute for the two biggest operators AMC and Vodafone Albania, down from 10.5 lek/min previously, and have since been on a downward trend.
Data made available by the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) show the number of mobile phone subscribers in 2012 reached 5.6 million, double compared to the 2.8 million residents in Albania as revealed by the latest 2011 housing and population census.