Under Calling Party Pays (CPP) for fixed-to-mobile calls, the fixed operator deducts specified charges from the fixed-to-mobile rate and passes the balance of the call revenue to the mobile operator.
The fixed operator may retain charges for the following items:
- Call origination: Call origination charges reflect the cost of the fixed network used to originate the call,
- Billing and collection: The fixed operator may levy a contribution to the cost of collecting call revenue from its customers. This fee may be expressed as a percentage of the fixed-to-mobile tariff, or as an absolute charge per minute, per call or per bill,
- Bad debts: The fixed operator may levy a fee for bad debts, on the basis that fixed-to-mobile calls may make up a significant proportion of customers' total bills,
- Other fees: For instance in some countries fixed operator’s charge fees for managing complaints related to fixed-to-mobile calls.
The proportion of the call revenue retained by the fixed operator varies from country to country. Figure 1 shows the proportion of retentions in selected Latin America countries in 2003. In Chile retentions amounted to 7 percent of the fixed-to-mobile tariff while in Venezuela retentions were as high as 31 percent.
Figure 1: How Much of a Fixed-to-Mobile Tariff is Kept by the Landline Operator? Latin America 2003
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Mobile Termination Rates