Termination fee
The term termination fee (generally also interconnection fee or interconnect fee - depending on the case also called feeder fee , origination fee , interconnection fee or IC fee or IC fee for short ) is understood to mean the amount a telephone company charges for the termination during network interconnection ( Call delivery , call termination ) of a telephone call in a foreign network or has to pay for the receipt of such a call from a foreign network.
The termination fee is due if the network operator of the caller ( A subscriber ) does not match that of the person called ( B subscriber ).
A feed-in fee is due for feeding the call from the A-subscriber into the network of connection network operators ( call-by-call / preselection providers; they pay both the feed-in and the termination fee) and for special numbers from service providers that they themselves pricing ( offline billing ; in Germany 0800 , 0900 , 0137 , 0181 , 118- information services , 019- Internet-by-call ).
In many markets, network operators have to have the level of their IC fees approved by a regulatory authority (for example in Germany the Federal Network Agency ).
The fees expect the telcos in every second among themselves and calculate them according to their retail prices one.
The operators also charge termination fees when calls are transferred to foreign networks or to mobile networks .
The IC fees can vary significantly depending on the direction of flow, i.e. they can be asymmetrical . This also explains the comparatively high tariffs of the fixed network and mobile network operators in foreign mobile networks, whereas calls to their own network and to the fixed network are often offered more cheaply by the providers.
Fees by country
(all figures net)
Germany
In Germany, the termination rates for calls in the German mobile networks were set by the Federal Network Agency of around 7 ct / min. (valid until the end of November 2010) to just under 3.4 ct / min. lowered. They were in effect until November 30, 2012.
On November 16, 2012, the Federal Network Agency announced that this fee would increase to 1.85 ct / min from December 2012. wanting to lower. On December 1, 2013, the cell phone termination rate was increased again to 1.79 ct / min. lowered. The remuneration decisions are valid until November 30, 2014.
Just two weeks later, on November 30, 2012, the Federal Network Agency also set the termination rates for the delivery of calls in the Deutsche Telekom landline network: with a provisional rate of 0.36 ct / min. at main time and 0.25 ct / min. for the handover of a connection in the immediate vicinity of the called party, these charges were reduced by around 20%. Deutsche Telekom is not subject to any regulatory restrictions when it comes to pricing for the routing of calls to the fixed network that are not transferred in the immediate vicinity of the person called. In practice, Telekom charges its competitors 0.43 to 0.61 ct / min for the remote transfer of connections. which corresponds to the charges set for the supply of connections.
For the first time, competitors of Deutsche Telekom have to de facto charge less for the transmission into their network than for the reverse purchased upfront service. Unlike Deutsche Telekom, they are subject to regulation regardless of the point of handover. As a result, Telekom charges a network operator with a single transfer point more fees than the Deutsche Telekom network operator, which has been criticized in the industry.
On September 3, 2014, the Federal Network Agency set the charges for December 1, 2014 1.72 cents / min. and a further reduction took place on December 1, 2015 to 1.66 cents / min, these were in effect until the end of November 2016.
On December 2, 2016, the fees were reduced retrospectively as of December 1, 2016 and further fee reductions that will come into force on December 1, 2017 and December 1, 2018, respectively, were resolved. The termination fees are as follows:
| Valid from | Euro cents / minute |
|---|---|
| December 01, 2016 | 1.10 |
| December 01, 2017 | 1.07 |
| December 01, 2018 | 0.95 |
Austria
In Austria, the termination rates to the fixed network were historically set depending on the destination connection. Until the end of 1999, the termination rate for local calls was 1.02 ct / min., For regional calls 1.82 ct / min. and for calls in the national category at 2.40 ct / min. At the beginning of 2000, the termination rates for the regional and national categories were reduced slightly and a distinction was also introduced between peak (workdays between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.) and off-peak (work days 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). the off-peak termination rates being less than half of the peak termination rates. The fixed network termination rates were then continuously reduced. It was noticeable that the fee for national calls remained unchanged for a long time and was only reduced slightly later. As a result, the national termination rate ( peak ) was at times higher than that for calls in cellular networks. At the end of 2011 it was 2.16 ct / min., While at this point in time the mobile termination rate was a maximum of 2.01 ct / min. amounted to. Since November 1, 2013, a distinction has only been made between peak and off-peak. The maximum termination fee is 0.137 ct / min. (Peak) or 0.085 ct / min. (Off-peak).
Until the end of 2008, individual termination rates were set for the individual mobile networks. Smaller providers were preferred due to their higher termination rates. The differences were sometimes very large, for example, in the second half of 2007, the charges for calls to the network of Hutchison Drei Austria were 11.86 ct / min. more than twice as high as that for calls in the Mobilkom Austria network at 5.91 ct / min. Since 2009, the termination rates in all mobile networks have been symmetrical - i.e. the same. Starting at 4.5 ct / min. they were then increased every six months by around 0.5 ct / min. so that at the beginning of 2011 a rate of 2.51 ct / min. was achieved. As of June 2011, the rate was 2.01 ct / min. Since November 1, 2013, the maximum rate has been 0.8049 ct / min.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, the mobile termination fees are freely negotiated by Swisscom with the other market participants. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, they can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (ComCom) . In 2010, the termination rates in the Sunrise Communications and Orange mobile networks were initially 17 cents per minute, and 14 cents per minute for the Swisscom network. As a result, an agreement was reached on lower charges, which were charged from October 2010: 10 cents per minute in the Sunrise and Orange networks, 8 cents per minute in the Swisscom network. On January 1, 2011, there was a further reduction to 8.75 cents per minute in the Sunrise and Orange networks and 7 cents per minute in the Swisscom network. The termination fees are twice to three times as high as e.g. B. in the neighboring countries Austria and Germany.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Network Agency announces final approval of the mobile termination rates . Federal Network Agency , February 24, 2011
- ↑ The fees are valid until November 30, 2012. onlinekosten.de, December 5, 2010
- ↑ Federal Network Agency announces final wireless termination rates. Federal Network Agency, press release from July 19, 2013
- ↑ New interconnection fees for the fixed network published. Federal Network Agency, press release of November 30, 2012
- ↑ If the second digit after the comma is important. teltarif.de , editorial dated December 2, 2012
- ↑ Federal Network Agency publishes proposal for new mobile termination rates . Federal Network Agency, September 3, 2014
- ↑ Example "Telekom Deutschland GmbH" for the termination fee (bundesnetzagentur.de)
- ↑ Interconnection fees 2000 fixed network. RTR
- ↑ Landline termination charges from November 1, 2013. RTR
- ↑ Mobile termination rates 2004 to 2009. RTR
- ↑ Mobile termination rates from July 1, 2009. RTR
- ↑ Mobile termination rates from November 1, 2013. RTR
- ↑ Mutual allegations in the dispute over termination fees. inside-it.ch, August 4, 2010