AKEP proposes reduction in wholesale fixed telephony tariffs

2025-09-02 07:23:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) proposes to reduce call termination rates (wholesale rates that operators pay each other) next year.

According to AKEP data, call termination rates on fixed telephone networks in Albania are significantly higher than those in the 27 EU countries. Also, the current fixed termination rate in Albania is many times higher compared to the common termination rate of 0.07 eurocents/min implemented in EU countries.

On this basis, in the analysis of the fixed telephony market prepared by AKEP, it is proposed that the termination fee in fixed operator networks be gradually reduced by 57%, in the time interval March 1, 2026-March 1, 2027.

From the current rate of 0.7 lek per minute, AKEP proposes that this rate be reduced to 0.3 lek per minute as of March 1, 2026. The reduction is expected to continue in a second stage, to 0.15 lek as of September 1, 2026, and to be finalized at the level of 0.07 lek per minute, on March 1, 2027.

In the conditions in which the fixed telephony market in our country is located, in the absence of the construction of a pure BU LRIC model, AKEP has used the method of adjustment according to the average tariff in EU/regional countries (benchmark), with the argument that the state of the fixed telephony market does not justify the establishment of a pure cost model.

AKEP notes a significant decrease in call traffic originating from fixed telephony networks over the years and the respective revenues of fixed telephony entrepreneurs, as well as an ever-decreasing demand for the use of fixed telephony services, as a result of the increased mass use of mobile telephony services.

According to AKEP data, at the end of last year, there were 165,380 fixed-line telephone subscribers in Albania. Their number has decreased for the sixth consecutive year, by 4.5% compared to the previous year. In the space of a decade, the number of fixed-line telephone subscribers has decreased by 35%.

According to AKEP, the market in our country is characterized by a very low penetration rate compared to other countries in the EU and the region. For 2024, this indicator increased slightly to 6.9%, but only as a result of the decrease in the population base from the 2023 Census data.

This rate remains much lower compared to the world average, which is around 11%, as well as to developed countries, where fixed telephony still maintains a usage rate of around 33%. The data confirms that the decline in subscribers is not a temporary phenomenon, but a long-term orientation of the market towards more flexible and contemporary electronic communication alternatives.

According to statistical data filed with AKEP, the number of active fixed telephone network operators is currently 29./ Monitor