Vodafone has voiced its opposition to plans to introduce a Receiving-Party-Pays (RPP) model in Europe, saying the move would force operators to raise retail charges.
The telecoms company said this would lead to 40 million users getting rid of their cell phones, according to a report in the Financial Times.
Viviane Reding, the EU telecoms commissioner, wants to reform the industry and has been carrying out a public consultation on its proposals, which closes on Wednesday.
As well as adopting RPP, the plans also include reducing mobile termination rates from an average €0.08 a minute to between €0.01-0.02 in the next few years.
According to the report, Vodafone isn’t opposed to the argument for cuts, but wants to see the rate at between €0.05-0.06 per minute by 2012.
Reding favors the US-style RPP system, in which users pay to receive calls as well as making them, because American consumers pay lower call charges and make greater use of their mobiles. Termination rates are typically set at near zero.
Vodafone used its submission to the European Commission, seen by the Financial Times, to argue against the adoption of a RPP model.
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