Phone charges - Mobile phone users ripped-off

IT is disingenuous of O2 Ireland to dismiss out of hand suggestions by consumer groups that Irish customers are being ripped-off by mobile phone charges.

Quizzed yesterday by a Dáil committee on Communications, the group claimed Irish customers spend more on mobile phones because they use them more and for longer lengths of time than their counterparts in Britain and Germany.

The company's claim flies in the face of the argument by Ms Etain Doyle, chairwoman of ComReg, the national regulation body, who says Irish mobile phone prices are among the highest in the world.

Underlining her contention, Vodafone and O2, which share 96% of the Irish market, returned combined pre-tax profits of almost €€300 million and revenue exceeding €€1.5 billion. This performance is in stark contrast with loss-making sister firms elsewhere in the EU.

Because of the difficulty of comparing like with like, the facts are not instantly transparent. But if O2 denies its customers are being overcharged, the bottom line is that mobile phone users are convinced they are being ripped-off and can see the evidence in mounting bills.