Icelandic telecoms regulator the Post and Telecommunication Administration (PTA) has published a draft decision, which will dictate the wholesale mobile termination rates (MTRs) for all of the country’s wireless operators – Siminn, Vodafone Iceland (Fjarskipti), Nova, Alterna and re-seller Tal – effective 1 January 2015. The document stipulates that the wholesale rates for termination in individual mobile networks in Iceland will decrease to ISK1.52 (USD0.01) excluding VAT in calendar year 2015; the current termination rate of ISK1.64 per minute will remain in effect until 31 December 2014. The document has been submitted for consultation to the European Economic Area’s (EEA’s) relevant regulators, including the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA); the watchdogs have been given one month to submit their comments on the draft decision.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in August 2013 the PTA launched a public consultation on a draft decision to further reduce MTRs, based on the implementation of a pure Bottom-Up Long Run Incremental Costs (BULRIC) model, in accordance with recommendations by the European Union (EU) and the ESA. Subsequently, in November, the PTA published its Decision No.25/2013, according to which wholesale MTR tariffs were reduced to ISK1.64 per minute, effective from 1 January 2014.