The conclusions of the eight-month investigation into mobile termination charges by the Dutch competition authority (NMa), and a ruling that all mobile operators have a dominant position in the market, will theoretically help regulator Opta to force Dutch mobile operators to charge cost-oriented termination fees to fixed-line operators. Opta was planning to begin imposing gradual termination-fee reductions from December 1, even before the NMa ruling. But though the competition authority's intervention may provide ammunition for future rulings from Opta, the regulator is still uncertain of the methodology it will use to resolve disputes over mobile termination charges. And in the period since its first attempt at imposing price caps in May, some 40 disputes over termination charges have arisen and one operator has already managed overturn its decision in the Dutch courts.
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