Regulator Ofcom has helped UK’s mobile operators save millions of pounds per year. Under the present system, when a call is sent to a mobile either from a fixed-line or a mobile phone, the network of the individual making the call has to pay the network that receives the call. Ofcom has reduced the rate that operators can charge each another for connecting calls. So for the first time, third-generation network 3 as well as other 3G providers will see a new “termination rate” charges of 5.9p per minute. UK’s other four major operators will be subject to rates of 5.1p per minute, irrespective of whether the call is connected over 2G or 3G.

For T-Mobile and Vodafone, the rate changes means a 20 percent reduction. For O2 and Orange it will result in a 10 percent reduction. Ofcom believed that the networks would be able to save roughly in the range of £400m and £500m over a period of four years. It also expects that these savings will be passed on to the consumers. An O2 spokesman believed that call rates are supposed to come down all across the board due to competition. He also felt that fixed-line telcos will be the biggest beneficiaries and they may pass on their savings onto consumers. However, chief executive of telco Cable & Wireless, Jim Marsh, feels that network customers will have to face the brunt by paying more for calling mobile users.