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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mobile phone fees set to be cut | Mobile phone fees set to be cut |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Callers to UK mobile phones could see cheaper bills from 2011 after a ruling by telecoms regulator Ofcom. | Callers to UK mobile phones could see cheaper bills from 2011 after a ruling by telecoms regulator Ofcom. |
| It has cut the cost mobile phone firms can charge for connecting a call from another network or landline from 4.3 pence per minute to 0.5p by 2015. | It has cut the cost mobile phone firms can charge for connecting a call from another network or landline from 4.3 pence per minute to 0.5p by 2015. |
| Ofcom has also issued new rules to make it quicker and easier to switch mobile phone providers. | Ofcom has also issued new rules to make it quicker and easier to switch mobile phone providers. |
| Customers should, by 2011, be able to change mobile providers in one working day rather than two. | Customers should, by 2011, be able to change mobile providers in one working day rather than two. |
| In addition, mobile phone companies will have to issue users with the Pac code they need in order to keep their existing mobile number by text message within a maximum of two hours, Ofcom said. | In addition, mobile phone companies will have to issue users with the Pac code they need in order to keep their existing mobile number by text message within a maximum of two hours, Ofcom said. |
| Currently, some mobile phone companies only issue these codes by letter, which can mean switching takes several days. | Currently, some mobile phone companies only issue these codes by letter, which can mean switching takes several days. |
| Ofcom research shows that 70% of customers want to keep their mobile number when they change providers. | |
| On the matter of mobile phone charges, Ofcom said it would mean cheaper calls to mobiles for the more than 32 million households and firms with a landline. | On the matter of mobile phone charges, Ofcom said it would mean cheaper calls to mobiles for the more than 32 million households and firms with a landline. |
| Ofcom predicts consumers calling mobiles could save a total of £800m over the four-year period the charges have been set for. | |
| Its latest ruling follows instructions from the European Commission last year that charges should reflect only the cost of establishing connection. | Its latest ruling follows instructions from the European Commission last year that charges should reflect only the cost of establishing connection. |
| These fees, called termination charges, have fallen substantially as mobile phone usage has grown. In 1995, the cost was 23p per minute, Ofcom said. |