Irish mobile penetration rate hits 94%
{{date|March 18, 2005}}
[[Image:Fibreoptic.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Broadband penetration is increasing rapidly]]
According to a quarterly report by [[w:ComReg|ComReg]] (Commission for Communications Regulation) on the [[w:Republic of Ireland|Irish]] [[w:telecommunications|telecommunications]] market released today, Irish [[w:mobile phone|mobile phone]] penetration has hit a new record of 94%. This is an increase of 6% from the same time last year, when penetration rates stood at 88%. The statistic means that there are now 3.78 million mobile phone subscribers in Ireland. The document also indicated that the number of [[w:Broadband Internet access|broadband]] customers in Ireland now stands at 131,550.

Among other things the statistics revealed that:
*'''94%''' of Irish people own a mobile phone - up from 88% last year,
:*[[w:Vodafone|Vodafone]] has a '''51%''' market share, down 2%,
:*[[w:O2|O2]] has a '''40%''' market share, unchanged,
:*[[w:Meteor|Meteor]] has a '''9%''' market share, up 2%,
*There are now '''131,550''' broadband connections, an increase of 37% in the last quarter,
:*'''114,000''' of these are [[w:Digital Subscriber Line|DSL]] connections,
:*'''8,950''' of these are via [[w:Cable modem|Cable]],
:*'''8,600''' of these are fixed wireless,
*The Irish fixed, mobile and broadcasting market is now worth '''€4bn per annum''',
*Over '''1bn''' [[w:text messages|text messages]] are now sent every quarter.

Earlier this week [[w:Eircom|Eircom]], the largest broadband provider in the country announced that it intends to double its standard packages speed from 512kps to 1Mbps. Also Meteor has announced that it would consider allowing a [[w:Mobile Virtual Network Operator|Mobile Virtual Network Operator]] (MVNO) to piggyback on its network.

==Sources==

*{{source|url=http://www.comreg.ie/publications/default.asp?ctype=5&nid=101986| title=ComReg Quarterly Report | author= |pub=ComReg|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.rte.ie/business/2005/0318/comreg.html| title=Mobile phone penetration now stands at 94% | author= |pub=RTE News|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=137189920&p=y37y9x6z6| title=ComReg releases quarterly report | author= |pub=Ireland Online|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.sbpost.ie/breakingnews/breaking_story.asp?j=2914800&p=z9y48y5&n=2914892&x=| title=ComReg releases quarterly report | author= |pub=The Sunday Business Post Online|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=1133349;s=rollingnews.htm| title=19 out of 20 now have a mobile - ComReg | author= |pub=Business World|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1000945.shtml| title=ComReg says Irish send average of 89 SMS messages per subscriber each month | author= |pub=Finfacts.com|date=March 18, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.enn.ie/frontpage/news-9594555.html| title=Broadband subscriptions rise to 130,000 | author=Deirdre McArdle |pub=Electronicnews.net|date=March 18, 2005}}

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[[Category:Ireland]]
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Published]]
[[Category:Vodafone]]
Broadband penetration is increasing rapidly
According to a quarterly report by ComReg (Commission for Communications Regulation) on the Irish telecommunications market released today, Irish mobile phone penetration has hit a new record of 94%. This is an increase of 6% from the same time last year, when penetration rates stood at 88%. The statistic means that there are now 3.78 million mobile phone subscribers in Ireland. The document also indicated that the number of broadband customers in Ireland now stands at 131,550.

Among other things the statistics revealed that:
*'94%' of Irish people own a mobile phone - up from 88% last year,
:*Vodafone has a '51%' market share, down 2%,
:*O2 has a '40%' market share, unchanged,
:*Meteor has a '9%' market share, up 2%,
*There are now '131,550' broadband connections, an increase of 37% in the last quarter,
:*'114,000' of these are DSL connections,
:*'8,950' of these are via Cable,
:*'8,600' of these are fixed wireless,
*The Irish fixed, mobile and broadcasting market is now worth '€4bn per annum',
*Over '1bn' text messages are now sent every quarter.

Earlier this week Eircom, the largest broadband provider in the country announced that it intends to double its standard packages speed from 512kps to 1Mbps. Also Meteor has announced that it would consider allowing a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) to piggyback on its network.
Ireland Economy and business Science and technology Published Vodafone