The Irish telecoms sector saw revenues increase by 4% and there was a 10% movement of customers from the incumbent to other fixed line operators in the last quarter.
A report from the newly-created Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) found that 162,000 Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) lines are now rolled out in the country and at the end of the third quarter, there were more than 3.5 million Irish mobile phone subscribers.
ComReg Chairperson, Etain Doyle said, “After a tough year, it is good for the market and for users to see some encouraging signs, and I believe that we can build on these in 2003.”
Ireland’s mobile penetration now stands at 77% making it the eighth highest in Europe. Subscribers send, on average, 65 text messages per month – an increase of 55% since December 2001 and data revenues now form a substantial part of Irish mobile operator’s turnover. As a result, Ireland has the highest ARPU levels in the European Union at E44 per month, up from E39 in the previous quarter.
As for DSL, some 700 lines have been added since September, taking the total number in the country to 1900. Around 25% of SMEs in Ireland have intimated that they are planning to upgrade from ISDN to DSL in the near future.
The study also found that 24% of all TV households have signed up for digital television and BSkyB alone has attracted more than 250,000 subscribers.
