Telecommunications in Ireland operate in a regulated competitive market that provides customers with a wide array of advanced digital services. This article explores Ireland's telecommunications infrastructure including: fixed and mobile networks, The voice, data and Internet services, cable television, developments in next-generation networks and broadcast networks for radio and television.
The telecommunication infrastructure of Singapore spans the entire city-state. Its development level is high, with close accessibility to the infrastructure from nearly all inhabited parts of the island and for all of the population, with exceptions. Today, the country is considered an international telecommunications hub, an achievement that was driven by Singapore's view that high-quality telecommunications is one of the critical factors that support its economic growth.
Eircom Limited, trading as Eir, is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to the Ireland's former state-owned monopoly telecommunication provider Telecom Éireann and its predecessors, P&T and before the foundation of the state, the telecommunications division of the GPO. It remains the largest telecommunications operator in Ireland and has overseas operations focused on the business and corporate telecom markets in the United Kingdom. The company was in majority state ownership until 1999, when it was privatised through a floatation on the Irish and New York Stock Exchanges.
Bell Mobility Inc. is a Canadian wireless network operator and the division of Bell Canada which offers wireless services across Canada. It operates networks using LTE and HSPA+ on its mainstream networks. Bell Mobility is the third-largest wireless carrier in Canada, with 10.1 million subscribers as of Q3 2020.
Meteor Mobile Communications Limited was a GSM and UMTS mobile telecommunications company in Ireland. They operated a GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS(HSPA+) and LTE cellular communications network under licence from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), and were the third entrant in the market, after Vodafone Ireland and Three Ireland. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Irish telecoms network Eir, having been purchased for €420m in 2005. Meteor was the only Irish owned mobile operator in Ireland. Meteor once issued new numbers with the prefix code 085. Since the introduction of full mobile number portability in Ireland, access codes have become less relevant as mobile telephone users may now retain their mobile telephone numbers when moving between mobile network operators. As a result, Meteor customers could have numbers starting with the codes 083, 085, 086, 087, or 089.
Virgin Mobile is a wireless communications brand used by seven independent brand-licensees worldwide. Virgin Mobile branded wireless communications services are available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Poland and Mexico. Virgin Mobile branded services used to be offered in Australia, France, Singapore, India, Qatar, South Africa and the United States.
Vodafone Ireland Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Group, is a mobile phone network and broadband provider in Ireland. It was created when the Vodafone Group bought Eircell, the mobile arm of Telecom Éireann. As of September 2019, Vodafone has 26% of broadband subscribers, and 43% of mobile phone subscribers.
StarHub Limited, commonly known as StarHub, is a Singaporean multinational telecommunications conglomerate and one of the major telcos operating in the country. Founded in 1998, it is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
M1 Limited is a Singaporean telecommunications company and one of the major telcos operating in the country. M1 was founded in 1994 and traded on the Singapore Exchange from 2002 to 2019. M1 is a subsidiary of the Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings through their joint venture, Connectivity.
Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. As of 31 December 2014, the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital (VoIP) telephony to 1 million customers. Until 4 May 2010, Virgin Media Ireland traded under the name Chorus NTL and UPC Ireland until 5 October 2015. Its main competitors in the Irish pay TV market are Sky Ireland, Eir and Vodafone Ireland.
Epic Communications Limited is a Maltese mobile network operator, and the largest mobile network in Malta by number of customers.
In marketing, a fighter brand is a lower-priced offering launched by a company to take on, and ideally take out, specific competitors that are attempting to under-price them. Unlike traditional brands that are designed with target consumers in mind, fighter brands are created specifically to combat a competitor that is threatening to take market share away from a company's main brand.
Hutchison 3G Enterprises S.A.R.L., trading as 3 (Three) and Hutchison 3G, is the owner of several originally UMTS-based mobile phone networks and broadband Internet providers, which operate in Hong Kong, Macau, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
T-Mobile US, Inc., often shortened as T-Mobile, is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, a German company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. As of April 2023, the European company holds a 51.4% majority stake in the company. T-Mobile US is the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States, with 117.9 million subscribers as of December 31, 2023.
The XT Network was a brand name for a UMTS and LTE mobile network run by Spark New Zealand . The network was initially built nationwide on WCDMA/UMTS 850 MHz, with 2100 MHz infill in major urban areas. The UMTS network is HSPA+ enabled, with a maximum downlink transmission rate of 21.1 Mbit/s and an uplink rate of 5.2 Mbit/s attainable for capable hardware. HSPA+ has a theoretical maximum of 56 Mbit/s download speed and 22 Mbit/s upload speed. Then under Spark 4G LTE is being built out. The network is not 2G capable, Telecom never operated a public GSM network.
GiffgaffLimited is an MVNO, marketed as a budget service provider and flanker brand of Telefónica UK. The stylised 'giffgaff' brand was founded by Gav Thompson a former marketing executive for Telefónica UK and was launched online only, on 25 November 2009.
VoLTE or Voice over Long-Term Evolution is an LTE high-speed wireless communication standard for voice calls and SMS using mobile phones and data terminals. VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than older 3G UMTS and up to six times more than 2G GSM. It uses less bandwidth because VoLTE's packet headers are smaller than those of unoptimized VoIP/LTE. VoLTE calls are usually charged at the same rate as other calls.
Three Ireland (Hutchison) Limited, commonly known as 3 Ireland or Three Ireland, is a telecommunications and Internet service provider operating in Ireland as a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, operating under the global Three brand. The company launched in July 2005 and provides 2G GSM, 3G UMTS, 4G LTE and 5G NR mobile phone services. Three's former holding company, Hutchison Whampoa, acquired O2 Ireland in June 2013, and the company was fully merged into the operations of Three Ireland in March 2015.
Circles.Life is a Singaporean digital telecommunications company. The company was founded in 2016, initially operating exclusively in Singapore, leasing its network from M1.
SMARTY is a mobile telephone flanker brand operated by Three UK. It aims to attract customers primarily looking for cheaper deals than those available direct from Three, by offering a monthly rolling SIM-only service, limited to online-only support. On some plans the operator offers to buy back unused data by means of a bill discount, a practice which is not widespread in the UK but is exhibited elsewhere such as by US carrier Ting.
