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[Yahoo-ENN]Irish line rental highest in Europe: EU

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  • 21-02-2006 2:31pm
    #1
    HelterSkelter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,585 ✭✭✭


    http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21022006/95/irish-line-rental-highest-europe-eu.html

    Irish residential customers have some of the highest fixed line phone bills in Europe, thanks to pricey line rental.

    According to a new Europe-wide report on telecommunications compiled by the European Union, the prices on Irish phone bills are beaten only by Finland in Europe. Worldwide, Japan is the most expensive in the survey. Ireland's monthly line rental charge of EUR24.20 is the highest in Europe, and is also more expensive than rates charged in the US and Japan.

    This is despite the
    fact that there is no guarantee of the availability of a DSL connection or even dial-up internet speeds. Damien Mulley, with lobby group Ireland Offline, has called for a reduction in these charges if the service cannot be guaranteed.

    "If we're paying that amount of money, we should be getting a quality service on it, and we're not," he told ElectricNews.Net. "As a way of incentivising the incumbent, Eircom, into providing quality lines, it should be forced to give a reduction to people who cannot get broadband."

    Although the report revealed that call charges in Ireland are cheaper than other European countries, line rental is pushing Irish telecoms bills higher. Despite getting a good deal on national calls, fixed line users are paying above the EU average for local calls, according to the report.

    Irish business customers fare a little better, escaping the top ten most expensive. For line rental, business customers pay the second highest line rental after the UK.

    Ireland is also expensive when it comes to local loop unbundling (LLU), ranking as the fourth most expensive for LLU in the EU, well above the EU25 average. Only three new EU states charge more each month for LLU, including Slovakia.

    Mulley observed that "anything telecoms related in this country has sky-high prices, which is a shame." He warned that high pricing could serve to discourage Irish consumers from using fixed line and even mobile services.


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