Telecommunications market of IrelandPhone Cards, Calling Cards |
| Ireland has one of the largest ICT and related services economies in Europe relative to the size of its GDP. The country’s Internet and mobile communications usage is broadly on a par with the rest of the European Union (EU), yet it has an under-developed residential and business broadband market, with poor levels of DSL and cable modem adoption compared with other European countries. Low penetration is due to high wholesale costs, lack of competition, high retail prices, limited coverage in many non-urban areas, and general low market awareness. The market slowly began to move in 2004 and 2005as the incumbent, eircom, and the regulator, ComReg, combined to diversify it. This report profiles Ireland’s fixed and wireless broadband markets in 2005 and early 2006, together with developments in related technologies such as FttH, powerline broadband, wireless broadband, WiFi and Internet via satellite. |
| The incumbent is gradually losing market share in the telephone market as cable TV companies and other providers offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and mobile services to their traditional pay TV and broadband packages. Cable TV companies are also developing Video-on-Demand (VoD) services, and a range of media rich and interactive TV developments. Ireland has a relatively small and highly concentrated broadcasting sector. Of the 1.25 million homes passed for cable/MMDS, some 80% subscribe to digital services. There are four broadcasting transmission platforms: satellite, cable, deflector and analogue terrestrial. This report presents a comprehensive overview of all these platforms and major service providers in 2005 and looks ahead to new developments in 2006. It also notes the status of digital TV via the terrestrial, cable and satellite platforms, as well as interactive TV services. |
| Ireland has a small but well developed telecom market. The mobile is served by four established operators, and mobile penetration approached 100% in mid-2005. Broadband penetration is almost the lowest in the EU, but both industry and the government have made great efforts to invest in infrastructure, while the regulator has provided better access to local loops. This Paul Budde report provides statistics and research on the key sectors of the Irish telecom market in 2005, looks ahead to 2006 and presents an overview of the regulatory environment, the status of carrier preselection, the fixed network operators and services, and the telecom infrastructure. |
| Ireland’s small mobile market underwent considerable changes in 2005. A triopoly of service providers still dominates the market, but two new 3G services have introduced a new element of competition. Vodafone and O2 retain a market lead in the face of extraordinary subscriber growth from the third player Meteor. This report provides statistics and research on the Irish mobile market in 2005 and early 2006, including the key regulatory issues, a snapshot of the consumer market, and the growth of mobile data services such as SMS, i-mode, GPRS and EDGE. |
| Ireland Phone Cards |