Good start for new bill structure

OVER 17,000 people have taken advantage of new rules governing phone bills since they were introduced in June, the telecoms industry regulator said yesterday.

ComReg’s quarterly report on the Irish communications market said the introduction of so-called single billing, which allows customers to eliminate the need for separate phone bills governing line rental and calls made, had enjoyed a “promising” start and would improve competition in the market.

Single billing is currently available to customers of fixed-line phone service providers Esat BT, Smart Telecom and Access Telecom, who now include line rental charges as part of their bills. Belfast broadcaster UTV, which recently entered the fixed-line market south of the border, will also offer the feature. Customers of these companies paid a separate bill to Eircom for line rental before the new rules came in. Single billing is expected to be good for consumers by making it easier to switch between fixed-line providers.

ComReg also said yesterday that the take-up of flat-rate internet access increased by 30% over the summer. Almost 82,000 customers now access the internet using a flat-rate tariff. Flat-rate access was introduced last year and allows customers to buy a fixed package of minutes each month, rather than be charged on a per-minute basis each time they connect to the web. Customers taking out high-speed internet access using broadband saw a 44% increase over the three months to August. Ireland now has more than 55,000 broadband users but remains near the bottom of the EU table for broadband take-up levels.

ComReg chairman John O’Doherty said: “The increasing levels of broadband and flat rate internet take-up are both welcome and are important contributors to enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness,” he said.