|
A Primer on Mobile Termination Rates
January 2006
ISBN 0-9761790-2-4
40 pages
Available in PDF format
US$150 for a single-user license
For multi-user licenses, please contact Telecommunications Management Group, Inc. at +1-703-224-1501 or
by clicking here.
Order A Primer on Mobile Termination Rates
A Primer on Mobile Termination Rates notes that while mobile telephone subscribers surpassed fixed line
subscribers globally in 2002, mobile usage significantly lags fixed line usage. The main reason is the high price of mobile calls
which are often caused by high mobile termination rates (MTRs, the cost per minute of terminating a call on a mobile network).
There is compelling evidence that mobile users in countries with low termination rates or that charge the receiving party for
the call (known as Receiving Party Pays, RPP), spend more time talking on their phones. For example, users in the United
States, where mobile operators use RPP, spend almost 600 minutes a month speaking on their mobile phones whereas users
in the European Union, where the calling party is charged for the call (known as Calling Party Pays or CPP) use their
mobile service an average of only 142 minutes a month.
The report finds that the average MTR in the world was US$0.142 at the beginning of 2005. MTRs among countries
that have announced phased reductions are forecast to fall below US$0.109 per minute by 2007, a decline of 19% a year. There is
significant variation in MTRs around the world, with the Asian region having the lowest at US$0.048 per minute:
MTR by Region, 2005, US$
| Asia | | 0.048 |
| Africa | | 0.116 |
| Americas | | 0.131 |
| World | | 0.142 |
| Europe | | 0.162 |
| Pacific | | 0.200 |
The report provides regulators, policy makers, operators, researchers and others with an overview of
MTR concepts. It explains the difference between RPP and CPP, providing examples of different penetration rates and usage
patterns under the two systems. The report examines asymmetric MTRs, such as different rates for different operators in
the same country or different MTRs depending on the originating network such as another mobile, a fixed network or an
international call. It features 5 tables and 20 charts providing a wealth of data on mobile termination rates and trends.
In addition, regional benchmarks are provided for 2005. It also includes a summary table of mobile market indicators
including penetration, retail pricing, competition index, minutes of use and average revenue per user for 40 major economies.
Contents
1
| Introduction
|
2
| Interconnection
|
| 3 | Mobile termination rate structure |
| 3.1 | Asymmetric rates |
| 3.1.1 | Different rates for mobile operators |
| 3.1.2 | Different rates for call origination |
3.2
| International mobile surcharges
|
| 4 | Regulatory remedies |
| 4.1 | Dominance |
| 4.2 | MTR reductions |
| 4.2.1 | Immediate |
| 4.2.2 | Glide paths |
| 4.2.3 | Trends |
| 4.3 | Regulatory intervention in action |
| 4.3.1 | Africa |
| 4.3.2 | Asia |
| 4.3.3 | European Commission |
| 4.3.4 | Latin America and the Caribbean |
4.3.5
| Pacific
|
| 5 | Determining appropriate MTRs |
| 5.1 | Benchmarks |
| 5.2 | Volume retail packages and on net pricing |
| 5.3 | Fixed termination |
5.4
| Operating costs
|
6
| Revenue or Cost?
|
7
| Mobile market indicators, major economies, 2004
|
8
| Mobile Termination Rates
|
9
| Regional MTR Benchmarks
|
10
| Mobile surcharges and spot market rates, 2005
|
11
| References
|
| |
|
|
