EC gives Germany three months to amend MTRs

The European Commission (EC) has given Germany’s telecoms regulator the Federal Network Agency (FNA) three months to increase mobile termination rates, Reuters reports. In April the EC issued a first warning to the German watchdog over its plans to raise the fees, which the Commission says will lead to rates more than 80% higher than in other member states, but the FNA failed to address its concerns. The EC says Germany’s current plans would clash with the aim of fostering competition among operators and creating a telecoms single market, as calls across networks can only be connected by the operator on the receiving end, meaning that operator has a de facto monopoly on prices. The FNA has three months to convince the EC that it will amend its tariffs and if it fails to do so, the body will follow up with a more formal warning, which could ultimately lead to court proceedings and fines.