The FCC has released the 2012 International Telecommunications Data report which contains information on international message telephone, private line, and miscellaneous services between the United States and other countries for the year 2012. Statistical findings from the report include:
• The average per-minute charge to U.S. consumers for international calls fell 9% from $0.053 per minute in 2011 to $0.049 per minute in 2012. From 2000 to 2012, the per-minute rate decreased 90%, from $0.47 per minute to $0.049 per minute.
• International “U.S.-billed” traffic (originating in the U.S.) increased 5.7%, from 73.7 billion minutes in 2011 to 77.9 billion minutes in 2012.
• Calls to five countries account for 65.9% of outgoing international U.S.-billed minutes. The five most heavily used routes in 2012 were U.S.-India (31.0%), U.S.-Mexico (17.4%), U.S.-Canada (11.8%), U.S.-Dominican Republic (3.0%), and U.S.-Colombia (2.7%).
• Although total minutes were up, total U.S.-billed revenues for international telephone, private line and other miscellaneous services decreased collectively by 6%, from $4.5 billion in 2011 to $4.2 billion in 2012.
Additionally, pure resale traffic increased 21.3%, from 74.5 billion minutes in 2011 to 90.4 billion minutes in 2012. A copy of the full report is available on the FCC International Bureau’s website.
