Cutting the cord
Are telephone lines really necessary in an age when there are substantially more mobile phones than people in the country and a range of broadband services which deliver high speed internet access for a lot less than traditional providers can offer?
A fixed telephone will cost even the most casual user around €500 a year, over half of which goes on line rental alone. Add a fairly run-of-the-mill broadband package and the cost will jump to closer to €1,000 a year.
It is hardly any surprise that a growing number, particularly those in their 20s and 30s, with hundreds of bundled minutes and free calls from their mobile providers, have decided to disconnect their landlines.
Despite deregulation of the telecom sector and the presence of dozens of telephone providers here, Eircom remains the dominant player in the sector, not least because it still owns the infrastructure which the other operators must piggy-back on, with very few exceptions.
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