BEREC submits its Opinion on Draft Delegated Act setting the Union-wide voice termination rates

By adopting the BEREC Opinion on the Draft Delegated Act (DDA) setting single maximum Union-wide voice fixed and mobile termination rates, the Board of Regulators expressed their support to the general principle for defining mobile and fixed termination services along the numbers assigned to the provider of the called party. BEREC emphasizes that this is a clear, practical and transparent approach. BEREC also supports the termination rates and the implementation methods suggested in the DDA and agrees that under certain conditions, the termination rates for calls incoming from third countries should be bound by the maximum Union wide fixed and mobile termination rates.

In the mean-time, BEREC notes that in some cases, the current termination rates which are referenced in the DDA and the Staff Working Document (SWD) are outdated. In BEREC Opinion, it is indispensable that the EC considers the latest known rates for all Member States before the Delegated Act comes into force.

BEREC also highlights that non-price remedies could still be necessary, in many cases, to ensure effective competition in markets downstream of the termination markets. By setting maximum Europe-wide termination rates, the DDA is only addressing possible pricing abuses of an SMP position.

According to the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC), the EC shall adopt a Delegated Act setting the Union-wide voice termination rates by 31 December 2020.