New mobile phone operator 3 plans to shake up the Irish market

THE battle for the pockets of Irish mobile phone users stepped up yesterday with launch of new operator 3.

The company, which is owned by Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, said it would shake up the mobile market through lower prices and better customer service.

The company is launching Ireland's first third generation mobile network, which includes video calling, music videos and football highlights.

It is the second operator to launch third generation (3G) mobile phones after Vodafone kicked off last year. It's network currently covers 60% of the population but it has full coverage across the country through a roaming agreement with Vodafone.

Bob Fuller, 3's chief executive, said Irish customers have been calling for clearer and cheaper pricing for years and his company would deliver it.

The company yesterday announced the details of its prices. For €25 a month, customers can get 200 free call minutes or 100 minutes worth of calls and 100 text messages or 300 texts. It said this is much cheaper than comparable deals with Vodafone, O2 and Meteor.

It also launched two other price plans €45 and €60 a month for those who use their mobile phone more often.

Call to landline phones will cost 15 cents a minute, 30c to mobiles and texts cost 9c. These prices apply all day and to any network.

However, while 3's prices appear cheaper than its rivals, its phones are only available to monthly bill pay customers, which make up only a quarter of mobile phone users.

Mr Fuller would not say yesterday when the company plans to launch a pre-paid service. "We will get to pre-paid eventually. We cannot ignore 75% of the market," he added.

The company's phones will be available from its website (3ireland.ie) or in Carphone Warehouse and 3G outlets.

To start with, the company is launching five handsets, from manufacturers NEC, LG, Motorola and Nokia. Customers who sign up with 3 now will get a new number starting with the prefix 083, though within a few weeks customers who sign up keep their existing number.

Mr Fuller said the company was not overly concerned about entering a market where mobile penetration was over 90%, adding that Ireland was "not the first market we have gone into that is saturated."

With average Irish mobile bill the highest in Europe at 48 a month, the launch of 3 should be good news for consumers, who can now expected a price war among operators.