40,000 support Ofcom's mobile regulation

The companies behind the "Terminate the Rate" campaign said they had received overwhelming backing for their drive to slash charges on mobile phones, with 40,000 submissions of support sent to the communications watchdog.

Ofcom is consulting on the issue of mobile termination rates, and recommended in April that operators should cut the cost of customers calling people on other networks. It wants operators to slash costs of so-called mobile termination rates from about 4.3p currently to 0.5p in four years. Ofcom launched its review into the issue in May last year and the latest stage of the consultation closed this week.

The mobile operator 3 and BT are among those backing the move. Yet, rival operators have warned that the billions lost could ultimately harm the consumers, as they may have to pass on the costs.