IrelandOffline exposes the real figures behind ComReg quarterly report

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IrelandOffline exposes the real figures behind ComReg quarterly report

Key points:
  • Highest phone line rental in the world (once again omitted from figures in the report)
  • Highest mobile spend in EU
  • Total Internet subscriptions 1.4 million (or, 45% of households), of which nearly 40% are not broadband
Having analysed the most recent quarterly report, and consulted with the OECD, IrelandOffline affirm that the suggestion that Ireland have reached the “Top 10” is “wishful thinking”. The only Top 10 we actually feature in is the cost of owning a telephone line, for which the ITU recently reported Ireland as being the most expensive country in the world.
IrelandOffline spokesman Eamonn Wallace explained, “we currently have almost 240,000 dialup users in the country, along with 310,000 mobile midband users.These figures highlight the lack of infrastructure that is accessible at a reasonable cost. A huge percentage still rely on dialup as their primary means of accessing the Internet in Ireland. Some of the comments stretch the boundaries of credulity”

In accordance with the OECD methodology, and to enable comparing like with like, across our European and OECD country counterparts, it is necessary to exclude those dialup and midband users. When calculating the figures from Comreg themselves, it is clear that our Broadband Penetration rate is actually 45%, according to the OECD Measure of Household broadband penetration. The reported 63%  figure seems to have been conjured up from nowhere and touted by certain parties in a misleading attempt to make Ireland look comparatively better; which is an outrageous claim. No other country uses midband (mobile) subscriptions in their calculations.

Wallace also pointed out that “mobile phone costs are as exorbitant as land line costs, as ComReg report that Ireland have the highest ARPU(1), yet again.” The excuse that Irish users ‘talk more’ doesn’t hold, when France speak more for less, in the same report. The recent ComReg quarterly report confirms the costs of telephony, both fixed line and mobile, in Ireland are exorbitant. These costs must be addressed immediately if we are to remain competitive in these difficult and challenging times.

FOOTNOTES: (1) This is the Average Revenue Per User. The standard measure used by mobile operators of how much revenue companies make from each individual.

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1 Response

  1. Irish Broadband Penetration | Broadband
    July 31, 2009

    […] the rest of the OECD by some distance. Our 20.6% penetration looks low, but if you added in the estimated 310,000 mobile broadband users, this figure would tip us over the OECD average parking us at 28% […]

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