Cyprus has the cheapest mobile termination rates. According to Eurostat data, the mobile termination rates in Cyprus in 2006 reached an average 2.25 cents per minute. Mobile termination rates are the wholesale rates charged for connecting calls between mobile networks. They are currently regulated in all EU countries by the national telecom regulator. On average they amount to 11.4 eurocents per minute in the EU25, starting from 2.25 eurocents per minute in Cyprus and rising to 16.49 eurocents in Poland.

The Commission today welcomed the proposal of the French regulator, ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes), to further lower the wholesale rates charged by French mobile operators. For the Commission, ARCEP's decision represents a clear move towards rates reflecting real costs. In its letter sent today, the Commission also supports ARCEP's call for a common European approach for calculating cost-oriented mobile termination rates as soon as possible.

"I congratulate ARCEP for making this move, which at the same time raises important questions of a European dimension. Should mobile termination rates in the EU be reduced further and eventually converge with fixed termination rates? What is the right balance between consumer benefits and the need to invest in mobile networks? And, finally and most importantly, what should be done to ensure that competition in the single market is not distorted between EU Member States, with operators in some Member States having to pay substantially higher mobile termination rates than in others?”, EU Telecom Commissioner, Viviane Reding wondered.

In France, mobile termination rates are already below those in other large EU Member States. ARCEP's draft measure further lowers the current rate and is therefore welcomed as it is a clear move towards a level reflecting real costs. Cost orientation is a core principle of the EU telecom rules.