Mobile phone operators in Britain were given the go-ahead today to maintain current charges for calls between different operators.
Regulator Ofcom said it was extending current "termination charges" - the amount charged by operators for connecting incoming calls from other networks and landlines - for another year.
Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange were told by Ofcom last year to cut these charges to around 6p a minute. The lower fees were put in place until March 2006, but as a result of today's announcement will now apply until March 2007.
There had been fears in financial circles that phone operators would be forced to cut charges further.
A spokesman for Ofcom denied that mobile phone operators were being let off the hook, saying: "We are not removing regulation. Things will be exactly as they are."
He added that after March 2007, Ofcom was hoping the industry would come up with "non-regulatory ways of keeping call charges down". Ofcom said it had taken into account factors such as demand, equipment costs and the cost of capital in making its decision.
It said it would continue to allow Vodafone and O2 to charge 5.63p a minute, down from 8p before September last year, while T-Mobile and Orange would carry on charging 6.31p, down from 9.5p.
PA