Irish phone bills among world's highest

Irish consumers are spending more on their phones than almost anyone else, according to a new survey, but the phone companies say it is because we're so keen on talking and texting.

Last year, telecommunications companies made an average of €776 from every Irish person, the survey of 11 countries has shown. Only Japan showed higher telecommunications revenues, at €882 per person.

Irish consumers spent more than average on both fixed lines and mobile phones, and both voice and data calls on mobiles, the survey by British telecoms regulator Ofcom showed.

Consumer groups said yesterday that the figures showed that phone users deserved a better deal. "These figures show we're getting a bad deal. In every other facet of business, you get some credit or reduction for buying in bulk, but not so in Ireland," said Dermot Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers' Association of Ireland.

However, phone companies said Irish revenues were higher because consumers here used their services more than in other countries. "It's simple - we talk more," said a Meteor spokeswoman.

A spokesman for ComReg said people were spending more on telecoms services than they were a decade ago because of the availability of new services such as the internet and the arrival of large numbers of migrants who were heavy phone users.

For fixed lines, Ireland ranked second of the 11 countries in the Ofcom survey, with an average spend of €306 per person. Only Japan, where revenues reached €370 per person, was higher.

Mr Jewell said it was "abysmal" that Eircom still in effect controlled fixed lines, leaving consumers with "outrageous" rental fees before they even made a call.

In the mobile sector, Irish consumers forked out an average of €434 each last year, just behind the €449 spent by Japanese phone users. In contrast, British users spent just €324 a year and Americans €301.

Revenues tend to be lower where there is more competition, the survey found; Ireland and Japan, in contrast, were found to have less diversified markets.

Mobile phones now account for more revenue than fixed lines, according to the survey. Mobile revenue grew from 45 per cent of total telecoms revenue in 2001 to 56 per cent last year.

Just one Irish person in two has a fixed phone line, but there are 106 mobile subscriptions for every 100 people, up from 74 in 2001.

However, Ireland lags behind other nations for broadband access. Only China and Poland have less than the 18 per cent of households with broadband in Ireland. More than half of all Dutch homes have broadband and in Sweden, Spain and Japan, the figure is over 40 per cent.

Overall communications revenue - for telecoms, radio and television - were among the highest in Ireland, with per capita revenue of €985 just behind Japan and the US. The report suggests Ireland's economic buoyancy explains the profitability of communications here.

Yet the Irish telecoms industry's growth rate of 5 per cent a year is lower than that in television (10 per cent) and radio (8 per cent).

The print industry still captures about 60 per cent of advertising revenue in Ireland, but there are signs of change in other countries; in the UK and the US, for example, internet advertising is a multi-billion euro business.

The Irish television licence fee of €158 compares favourably with that in the UK (€197), Germany (€209) and Sweden (€215) but is higher than in France (€119) and Italy (€101).

The Irish also watch less television than other nationalities; 180 minutes a day compared to 281 minutes in Japan.