The UK telecom giant BT today announced a joint initiative with the UK’s fifth largest mobile phone provider, 3, to reduce the cost of mobile phone calls in the UK.

The two companies have set up a campaigning website, which invites members of the public to sign an online petition to reduce the UK’s mobile termination rates (MTRs).

MTRs are the amount that telecoms companies currently charge for access to one another’s networks. In the UK, the rates stand at 4.7p per minute for calls from a fixed line to a mobile phone, and 0.3p per minute for calls to a fixed line from a mobile.

The Terminate the Rate Campaign claims that the MTR can account for as much as 80 per cent of the price of a call from a home phone line to a mobile.

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.”

Mobile termination rates were originally designed as a mechanism to help support the development of the fledgeling mobile phone industry. Their critics argue that in a country that now has as many mobile phones as people, they are no longer needed.

The major beneficiaries of MTRs are the UK’s “big four” mobile phone operators: Vodafone; O2; T-Mobile; and Orange, which take a large slice of the millions of pounds raised annually by MTRs. Last year, MTRs boosted their coffers to the tune of £750 million.

On May 7, the European Commission called on national telecoms watchdogs to explore new ways of reducing MTRs. This followed a Commission ruling that will reduce trans-European MTRs, and therefore mobile roaming charges, from July 1.

At the same time as BT and 3 were announcing their campaign, the UK regulator Ofcom announced that it has launched a public consultation into the future of MTRs.

Ofcom is inviting the public to respond to five options for the future of MTRs, including their abolition. However, in its consultation document, Ofcom points out that although such a “zero option” might benefit heavy mobile users, light users may face higher bills.

Ed Richards, Chief Executive of Ofcom, said: “The role of termination rates in mobile services has attracted enormous controversy. That is why we are determined to examine them from first principles. This consultation gives consumers and industry an opportunity to debate the fundamental questions.”

Any significant cut in MTRs is likely to be opposed by the big four mobile operators, which is already facing a loss of income from roaming charges and a drop in mobile phone usage, as customers become increasingly cost-conscious.

Last week, O2 revealed that its average revenue per user had fallen by nearly 4 per cent because people were cutting back on text messaging. Vodafone, meanwhile, is trying to trim about £1 billion from its £22 billion operating costs to fight the recession.

Explore Tech & Web

• Personal Tech

• The Web

• Gadgets & Gaming