Mobile firms told to cut charges

The cost of calling mobile phones from other networks and landlines is set to become cheaper after Ofcom imposed a reduction in charges.

The regulator ruled today that termination charges – the amount mobile phone companies bill their rivals for handling calls from their networks – will fall 80% over the next four years, starting from April 1.

The big three mobile operators – O2, Vodafone and Everything Everywhere, which includes Orange and T-Mobile – currently charge 4.18p (4.82 cent) per minute to connect calls from other phone companies.

But this will be reduced to 2.66p (3 cent) next month and will fall to 0.69p (.79 cent) by April 2014.

Ofcom said it expects landline operators to pass on the cost savings to customers and for mobile operators to offer more choice to customers.