Mark is calling on mobile operators to act quickly to cut termination rates in reaction to a new Ofcom Review proposing that they should be reduced to 0.5p per minute but not until 2015. Termination rates are the charges made by mobile phone companies for connecting a call from another network.

Ofcom is also intending to introduce new rules to make it easier for someone to switch mobile companies and to carry their old number with them when they do so.

Mark said:

“I welcome Ofcom’s proposals but not the speed at which they are to be implemented.

Termination rates should clearly be based on the costs that an efficient operator would incur in providing the service but at present they are four to five times higher.

“Mobile termination rates are also ten times those for fixed lines which means older people in particular lose out when ringing friends and family from a landline.

“High rates stifle competition too as newer, smaller companies inevitably terminate fewer calls on the networks of larger rivals.

“This is an area where innovations are taking place all the time so there is no reason why we should have to wait so long for change to take place.”

The proposals will be subject to further consultation and Mark has already written to Ed Richards, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, urging him strongly to press ahead quickly so that the public benefits from the lower rates well before 2015.

To read an Early Day Motion on the issue that Mark signed at Westminster click here.