Mobile firms lose price cut appeal

Cuts on the way in weeks rather than months...

Telecoms regulator Oftel has praised a High Court decision to reject three mobile phone operators' appeals against proposed price cuts. Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone all appealed against the initial ruling from Oftel and the Competition Commission, and asked for a judicial review of the order which called for a cut in the cost of calling fixed lines and other networks. Dave Edmonds, director general of Oftel, hailed the decision to overturn their appeal as a major victory for consumers. "The High Court has today rejected requests by the three mobile operators to overturn the Competition Commission's ruling backing Oftel's 15 per cent cut in charges for calls made to mobile handsets," he said in a statement. Edmonds said: "A major investigation by Oftel found that the mobile operators have been significantly overcharging consumers for connecting calls to their networks. The Competition Commission supported my judgement. "I am delighted that Oftel's arguments have been totally vindicated and that our processes and those of the Competition Commission have been shown to be fair and proper. "Today's decision means that the operators must reduce their charges by 15 per cent before 25 July. I am taking steps to ensure the operators maintain these reductions after 25 July."