eircom to cut interconnection rates

Ireland’s telecoms regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), has announced that following on from its review, former monopoly fixed line operator eircom will be lowering its interconnection rates. According to reports from SiliconRepublic.com, the Interconnection Call Conveyance Rates (ICCR), or rates that other operators are charged to deal with calls on eircom’s network, are set to come down by nearly 10%, starting from 1 July. The incumbent will also be publishing a list of interconnection rates – covering call origination, call transit and call termination – for the next year, beginning 1 July, in its Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO). It is hoped that this publication will improve competition among operators and stabilise customer call charges. eircom’s decision to cut wholesale prices is the result of ComReg’s Regulation 8 (3) review which developed projections for cost volumes and cost allocations of wholesale rates. The new rates will stay in place until significant changes occur in the marketplace or a Wholesale Price Cap (WPC) is implemented.