Broadband remains “pie in the sky” for many people in rural Ireland with less than 60% enjoying a high-speed service.

The rate of Irish households with broadband is higher than the EU average, the latest figures from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has revealed.

A national organisation against domestic violence has called for the current number of public payphones across the country to be maintained so that women at risk of abuse can use the facilities to call its helpline.

The country’s communications watchdog has called for an increase in the level of financial penalties that can be imposed on companies for breaching industry regulations.

Vodafone has agreed to make a €7,500 charitable contribution to avoid a criminal conviction for failing to hand over data to a communications industry watchdog.

The Department of Communications relies on BT’s own data to review how well it handles almost three million 999 calls a year.

Smartphones are top of the preference list for mobile phone users, with more than half of mobile phone subscriptions for the high tech phone.

A trade union representing workers at Eircom and An Post is sending tens of thousands of flyers to Eircom’s customers asking them to voice their opposition to the ending of paper billing.

Mobile phones are the most commonly used telecommunications service in Ireland with almost every adult in the country (97%) possessing one.

The cost of a standard postage stamp is set to rise by 5c to 60c.

An Post is facing a serious financial crisis after being informed it will not be granted its request for a 10c hike in the cost of the standard 55c postage stamp.

Four mobile phone companies are to pay the State more than €850m to provide next generation mobile services.

An Post plans to shed the equivalent of 1,100 jobs over the next four years as it looks to cut costs.

By Aodhan O'Faolain and Ray Managh

The latest report from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) shows revenues fell across most parts of the Irish telecommunications market over the second quarter of the year.

Fears that rural dwellers could lose out when a new multi-band spectrum for mobile phones is rolled out have been downplayed.

A body representing providers of premium services to mobile phones have secured a High Court order staying sections of a new code of practice for the industry due to be introduced next Tuesday.

A body representing Irish companies providing premium services to mobile phone will be immediately forced out of business and their market taken over by foreign firms if a new code of practice for the industry is introduced, the High Court has heard.

The Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg) is considering banning calls to and from certain sub-Saharan countries.

Telecoms watchdog Comreg is considering banning calls to and from certain sub-Saharan countries after the re-emergence of a scam in which mobile customers can have their call credit stolen.

An Post is facing legal action over the standard and quality of its postal delivery service.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of reported phone hacking cases in Ireland.

INCIDENCES of phone hacking have increased dramatically this year with the number of reported cases already equalling the total number of confirmed hacking incidents for 2010.

A new report has found that An Post is delivering just 85% of mail the day after it's posted, in contrast with the company's own target of 94% delivery.

AN POST is behind on its targets for mail delivery, according to regulator, ComReg.

LABOUR pledged to boost Ireland’s economic recovery with plans for a privately funded €2 billion high-quality broadband system.

THE Government will be obliged to promote a new EU-wide hotline for missing children from May 2011 – even though the service will be unavailable in Ireland for the foreseeable future.

THE country’s much-berated broadband services are getting even worse, with Ireland dropping out of the Global Top 50 rankings for download speeds.

FOR a growing number of people the mobile phone is replacing the home phone as their primary means of electronic communication, according to a new ComReg survey.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe has appointed former regulator Isolde Goggin to the Competition Authority for the next six months.

THOUSANDS of small investors have been stung following the appointment of a receiver to a community-run television company which tried to set up a digital service.

FOOTBALLERS born earlier in the year are more likely to be picked to play at an elite level.

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) today launched an initiative to assist small and medium-sized businesses in Ireland providing online information and a dedicated helpdesk for businesses to address their telecommunications and e-business issues.

THE Data Commissioner has warned about the dangers of unsolicited rip-off mobile phone texts after a 74-year-old pensioner complained of being stung for €10 per week.

BSkyB is understood to have added a further 50,000 subscribers to its digital television offering in Ireland over the past 12 months — taking its total Irish customer base to over 600,000 homes.

THE first decline in mobile subscriptions in four years has been recorded by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

Revenue across all communications sectors declined in the first four months of this year, according to figures from the Commission for Communications Regulation.

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) today expressed its concern with An Post's contniued failure to meet its targets.

The total number of broadband subscribers at the end of September was 1,125,080, a 6.7% increase since the second quarter of 2008, it has been revealed today.

MOBILE phone companies and the state’s telecoms regulator are to be asked by an Oireachtas committee why they are not using available technology to protect children from abusive and inappropriate calls and text messages.

ROAMING charges on Irish mobile phones are lower or as competitive as the EU average, according to a study by the Commission for Communications Regulation.