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Jul 24th 2009

Mobile Choice, RNID, Plain English Campaign and for dementia join the Terminate the Rate campaign   
 
Four new partners announced as the campaign to lower Mobile Termination Rates gathers momentum  

London, 24th July 2009: Mobile Choice, RNID, Plain English Campaign and for dementia today become the latest UK organisations to back the campaign to lower outdated Mobile Termination Rates.

The Terminate the Rate Campaign (www.terminatetherate.org), which launched on the 20th May 2009, is calling for an end to high Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs). MTRs are charged every time someone calls a mobile from a landline or a mobile on a different network and currently account for as much as 80 percent of the price per minute of a call from a home phone line to a mobile.

MTRs currently cost around 4.7 pence, or more, for every minute a user is calling a mobile from a landline or a mobile on another network. This is more than 10-times the termination rate charged to call a fixed-line phone. Last year UK mobile operators charged £750 million in MTRs just for allowing fixed-line customers to call mobiles. That’s over £60 million per month or £2 million per day.

Natasha Stokes, Editor, Mobile Choice said: “UK mobile charges are some of the highest in the world, partly due to high mobile termination rates - charges that are passed on to the consumer. Mobile Choice supports Terminate the Rate to reduce these charges and so pave the way for better value tariffs for consumers like all-you-can-eat voice and data packages.”

Guido Gybels, Director of Technology, RNID said: " Deaf and hard of hearing people often rely on using textphones to communicate with friends, family and colleagues. Hidden costs like MTRs can create a barrier to communication, which we know leads to social isolation and further problems. We’re keen that people understand exactly what costs they pay to mobile operators and for those costs to be as low as possible so people can stay in touch!”

Marie Clair, Press & PR Officer, Plain English Campaign said: “This campaign is exactly in line with our fundamental beliefs. Consumers deserve the right to understand complex issues that affect them in the simplest possible terms and we support any organisation that strives to do this. Clarity of information and lowering Mobile Termination Rates will benefit all fixed-line and mobile phone users. We are impressed that the Terminate the Rate campaign is highlighting this issue to the UK public.”

Joy Watkins, Resource Co-Ordinator, for dementia said: “for dementia are delighted to support the Terminate the Rate Campaign. Carers of loved ones with dementia are faced daily with escalating costs in living and yet there is no increase in their income. Mobile phones play an important role in most people’s lives but for carers they are often vital. We welcome any move to cut the costs that carers face and to help them financially to provide the best possible care they can for their loved one without the added stress of worrying about paying bills. We challenge other companies imposing unfair hidden costs on consumers to ‘Terminate the Rate’.

The campaign partners want to bring Mobile Termination Rates down to around a penny or less, saving consumers and businesses hundreds of millions. In the two months since launch, tens of thousands of consumers have registered their support for change by signing the petition at www.terminatetherate.org.

The European Commission has recognised that high MTRs penalise consumers and stifle competition and on the 7th of May recommended that regulatory bodies take a new approach to setting lower MTRs.

John Petter, MD, Consumer, BT Retail said: 'Fixed-line phone users know that calling a mobile is too expensive. We've done what we can to bring that cost down, but with MTRs accounting for up to 80 percent of the price per minute of a call from a home phone line to a mobile, the only way to get better prices is to terminate the unfair rate.”

Kevin Russell, CEO of 3 UK said: “Our calculations show that the cost of terminating a call on a mobile network is less than a penny. The current regime allows all mobile operators to charge much more, at a cost of millions of pounds to UK consumers. If we terminate the unfair rate, everyone will save money. As charges come down, competition between operators will bring down prices for consumers. When this happens we will be able to provide flat rate, unlimited calling offers which include numbers on any UK network. This will give consumers real freedom.”  

Notes to Editors:

Mobile Choice · Mobile Choice is a dedicated mobile publication providing the consumer with information on topical industry debates as well as expert advice on a range of issues including the best handset choices and money saving tips. RNID · RNID is the UK’s largest charity representing 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. Plain English Campaign · The Plain English Campaign believes that everyone should have access to clear and concise information and campaign against gobbledygook, jargon and misleading information. For Dementia · for dementia is a charity committed to improving the lives of people affected by dementia. About the Terminate the Rate Campaign The Terminate the Rate campaign is open to all, The campaign’s supporters believe high Mobile Termination Rates are outdated, far too high and the biggest barrier to a better deal for UK phone users, both fixed and mobile. The campaign’s supporters believe MTRs should be reduced to a fair rate which we believe is around a penny or less. MTRs are currently set at more than 10-times the rate to call a mobile phone when compared to calling a fixed-line from a mobile. This has led to fixed-line customers paying more than £750 million last year to the mobile networks for something that costs a fraction of that to provide. Ofcom starts its consultation on the next phase of regulation of MTRs this week and will be looking at a range of options. The EC has called for regulators across Europe to reduce these rates to benefit consumers and to enhance competition. Individuals, organisations and businesses that wish to register their support, sign a petition or simply learn more about termination rates and the campaign for them to be reduced to a fair level should visit www.terminatetherate.org Widespread support for the Terminate the Rate Campaign Moneysupermarket.com www.moneysupermarket.com Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk Carers UK www.carersuk.org GMB Union www.gmb.org.uk NUS www.nus.org.uk Age Concern/Help the Aged www.ageconcern.org.uk CMA www.thecma.com Post Office www.postoffice.co.uk RNID www.rnid.org.uk Plain English Campaign www.plainenglish.co.uk for dementia www.fordementia.org.uk Mobile Choice www.mobilechoiceuk.com Contacts: BT BT Group Newsroom T: 0207356 5369 3 UK Corporate Press Office T: 0845 603 8333 E: three@parys.com Personal Finance/Consumer: T: 0207 440 2379 E: 3@3-monkeys.co.uk moneysupermarket.com Tom Lawless T: 0207 566 9707 E: toml@lansons.com FSB Sophie Kummer T: 0207 592 8128 E: sophie.kummer@fsb.org.uk Carers UK Steve McIntosh T: 0207 378 4937 E: steve.mcintosh@carersuk.org GMB Steve Pryle T: 07921289880 Rose Conroy T:07974252183 NUS Jonathan Carroll T: 07866695010 Age Concern John Ratchford T: 0208 765 7513 Post Office Hayley Fowell Hayley.fowell@royalmail.com RNID T: 0207 296 8137 Mediarelations.team@rnid.org.uk Plain English Campaign Marie Clair E: pecpressoffice@aol.com for dementia Kirsty Marrins T: 0207 874 7203 Mobile Choice Natasha Stokes Natasha.stokes@nhmedia.co.uk  

For more information contact:

Barbara Bajkowski  
e: Barbara@3-monkeys.co.uk   
 
Anna Gorham
3 Monkeys  
m:07988 189575  
e: annag@3-monkeys.co.uk   
 
About 3 - Consumer

3 is a mobile operator focused on bringing the benefits of the internet to mobile communications. We offer attractive pricing and give our customers the widest choice of ways to stay connected at home or abroad. To do this we're building the UK's best high-speed mobile broadband network. 3 UK is a member of the HWL group of 3G companies, which include 3G operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy Macau and Sweden.  
 
Three facts about 3:  
 
- 3 launched the UK's first 3G network offering national coverage for calls and texts, and has over 91% population coverage for 3G services. As we consolidate our radio access network with T-Mobile we expect to reach almost complete UK population coverage for 3G by the end of 2009.  
- 3 has over 4.4 million active customers in the UK and over 20 million worldwide.  
- 3 was the first to enable free voice over internet calling with Skype and the first to launch a dedicated Skype mobile phone, the 3 Skypephone.
 
For more information about 3 UK, please visit www.three.co.uk or call the 3 Press Office on 020 7009 3142