Telecom Eireann is changing its name to Eircom. The switch forms part of a complete overhaul of the company's image and identity, timed for next spring in advance of the flotation.
In a statement, the State-owned firm said it had carried out detailed research before deciding to change the name: "The findings highlighted a strong desire for a new identity among both customers and staff."
Company sources said the name Telecom Eireann was seen by many of those surveyed as "dated, flat and cold". Outside of Ireland, the name sometimes generated confusion, the sources said. In the United States, for example, some of those polled presumed the firm was the Iranian state telephone company.
Recently, the company predicted that, in the future, 20 per cent of its business would come from outside the State.
Eireann said it needed a new identity to "reflect the radical changes taking place" in the organisation and the telecommunications industry in general. These included the competitive challenges of the newly-deregulated market, the changes in ownership resulting from the employee share ownership plan, and the planned Initial Public Offering.
In its statement, the company emphasised a shift in focus from a telephone company to a communications firm incorporating new media and electronic commerce.
Telecom Eireann's chief executive, Mr Alfie Kane, said the new identity would help accelerate the changes, acting as a catalyst and motivator for staff.
In what industry observers saw as an oblique reference to convergence between mobile and fixed communications infrastructure, Mr Kane said the new name "also creates a strong family link between the Group brand and the Eircell brand".
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