The European Commission has sent a letter to Opta, saying that the Dutch regulator's new fixed and mobile termination rate proposals do not comply with European Union rules aimed at promoting competition but also at protecting the interests of consumers. The EC has therefore suspended the proposals, explaining that such rates would negatively affect consumers in the Netherlands. In a previous filing in 2010, Opta proposed to apply cost-oriented fixed and mobile termination rates, in line with the Commission's 2009 Recommendation under the EU telecoms legislation. The regulator's decision was overturned by the Dutch Corporate Appeals Court (CBb), which asked for a different methodology to be used, including costs not directly related to call termination. Based on the CBb's methodology, fixed and mobile termination rights would be twice as high as under the EU approach. Under the new powers of Article 7a of the Framework Directive, the Commission, in close cooperation with European telecoms agency Berec will, over the next three months discuss with Opta how to amend its proposal in order to make it compliant with EU law. In the meantime, implementation of the proposal is suspended.
