Moving away from Bill and Keep?

The Commission published a report prepared by TERA on the future interconnection charging method. After much discussion about Bill and Keep (BAK) (see BEREC consultation on this point), the report might suggest that we will finally come back to Calling party pays (CPP)..

The study investigates whether there is a case to move beyond the improved interconnection charging regime for the termination of a phone call on a fixed or mobile network, so called "calling party network pays", or "CPNP", to a "Bill and Keep" regime when taking into account technological change and market developments. The study compares the merits and drawbacks of Bill and Keep v CPNP based on economic literature and case studies. It assesses the regulatory requirements associated with overseeing any (voluntary or mandated) move to BAK system. The study concludes that there is only a weak case to mandate BAK instead of improved CPNP in Europe given the expected impact of the Recommendation of 7 May 2009 on the regulatory treatment of fixed and mobile termination rates in the EU with the incremental cost of voice call termination approaching zero.