High Court rules ComReg cannot impose specific controls on Vodafone charges to other providers

ComReg, the communication services regulator, cannot impose specific price controls on Vodafone charges to other mobile phone service providers, the High Court ruled yesterday.

Vodafone had appealed two ComReg decisions imposing cost recovery and pricing obligations on it in respect of wholesale charges to other providers of a service described as “Mobile Voice Call Termination”.

This service is where mobile companies terminate inbound voice calls on their networks. It relates to interoperator charges levied by mobile companies to cover the cost of carrying calls on their networks.

Mr Justice John D Cooke said ComReg had directed Vodafone to adopt a particular cost-recovery methodology and charge a maximum of 2.6 cent per minute from January 1st until June 30th of this year and just over one cent (1.04) per minute from July 1st onwards.

Mr Justice Cooke said the benchmarking approach adopted by ComReg in the price control decision was beyond the powers designated to it under EC regulations.

The judge said the court would allow the appeal in part and set aside ComReg’s direction to Vodafone to ensure its mobile termination rates were set respectively at 2.6 cent and l.04 cent per minute. While the price controls decision applied to five other operators, only Vodafone brought a challenge.