Communications in the Republic of Ireland

Telecommunications in the Republic of Ireland, including postal services run by An Post, are regulated to a large extent by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), the Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources has overall responsibility for national policy and regulation. All of Ireland's communications infrastructure is modern and digital.

Broadcasting

Radio

• Stations: AM 1, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998)
• Radios: 2.55 million (1997)
• See also: List of Irish radio stations

Television

• Stations: 4 terrestrial stations, using 10 transmitters (plus more than 90 low-power repeaters) (2006)
• Televisions: 1.47 million (1997)
• See also: List of Irish television channels

See also: Radio Telefís Éireann and Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. For a more detailed discussion of the broadcasting landscape in Ireland, see Media in Ireland.

Internet

• Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 85 (2007) ^[1]
• Country code (top-level domain): IE
  • Domain registrar: IE Domain Registry
• Internet users: 1.1 million (2007)
• Broadband users: 698000 (Q3 2007)
  • Broadband penetration: 33% (Q4 2007)
  • Digital Subscriber Line: 500,000 (Q3 2007)
  • Cable: 68,900 (Q3 2007)
  • Fixed wireless: 102,000(Q3 2007)
  • Satellite: 8,000 (Q3 2007)

See also: Internet access worldwide#Ireland

• Leased lines: 26,522 (Q3 2005)
• See also: HEAnet, IEDR, INEX, ITnet

Telephone

Telephone system

• domestic (fixed line): digital system using extensive fibre optic backbone networks and some microwave radio relays
• domestic (mobile): digital GSM networks operating on 900MHz and 1800MHz and 3GSM (UMTS) 3G networks
• international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Telephones - fixed

• Lines: 2,022,640 (Q3 2005)
• Local loops unbundled (fully or partially): 3,600 (September 2005)
• See also: Digiweb, Eircom, BT Ireland, Smart Telecom, Perlico, Magnet Entertainment

Telephones - mobile

• Subscribers: 4.7 million (Q4 2006)
  • Pre-paid: 3.078 million (Q3 2005)
  • Contract: 972,000 (Q3 2005)
• Mobile phone penetration: 100% (Q3 2005)
• Call minutes: 1,449,462,000 (Q3 2005)
• SMS messages sent: 1,048,112,000 (Q3 2005)
• MMS messages sent: 6.1 million (Q3 2005)
• Average revenue per user: €47.37 (Q3 2005)
• Area Codes for Irish mobile phone operators:
  • 083 3 Ireland UMTS, HSDPA -1.6%
  • 085 Meteor GSM, EDGE -17.4%
  • 086 O2 Ireland (formerly Esat Digifone) GSM, UMTS -35.4%
  • 087 Vodafone Ireland (formerly Eircell) GSM, UMTS, HSDPA -47.2%
  • 088 Digiweb Mobile[2] [3][4] (formerly used for Eircell TACS analogue network)
  • 089 Reserved for MVNOs, (e.g. Tesco Ireland on O2 Ireland network)

Due to the introduction of full-number portability, some phones may now operate on different networks to those on which their number was originally allocated, thus an 086 number may not necessarily be an O2 number, likewise a Meteor customer may have an 087 number if they were previously a Vodafone customer. According to Comreg, 390,000 mobile phone users had taken advantage of FMNP up to September 2005.

See also

• Broadband Internet access in Ireland
• List of Ireland-related topics

References

1. ^ Irish Government Broadband Information [1]

External links

• Commission for Communications Regulation
• Irish Communications Market: Quarterly Key Data - September 2005 — Comreg report