Chorus has failed to meet a revised schedule to offer digital television services in two franchise areas and will have to refund 9,000 customers 10 per cent of their current cable TV costs.
The firm has failed to upgrade its cable to offer digital TV in Malahide and Swords and will have to refund customers under a scheme devised by the telecoms regulator.
The refund in these two areas alone will run into thousands of euros. Chorus will have to meet a number of other digital TV roll-out deadlines this year in several different franchise areas.
The refund will apply to the basic TV package in Swords and Malahide which costs £15 (€19.05) per month. Customers will receive a discount of €1.90 for each month that Chorus fails to upgrade its digital cable. This will cost the company almost €18,000 each month.
The 10 per cent discount condition was recently applied by the telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, following her decision to allow Chorus to increase its prices last October. In her decision notice, she said the price increase was necessary because Chorus "has a pressing need to upgrade network to bring service quality to a standard required by all of its customers and to meet its licence conditions".
More than 100 customers complained to Ms Doyle about the price increase. At least 10 per cent of these were in Malahide where customers complained of poor service quality, according to the regulator's report on the price increase. Customers from other areas also complained about poor service quality.
Ms Doyle approved price increases of up to 29 per cent in Chorus franchise areas. The regulator agreed to the increase because Chorus shareholders had "given the director a commitment to finance and implement the programme".
Chorus was required to complete its upgraded digital network by January 1st, 2002 under a revised plan introduced by Ms Doyle last year. This followed an earlier failure by both Chorus and another cable group NTL to meet their licence requirements to offer digital television services within a specified timeframe. Both firms face significant cash flow difficulties due to a downturn in the sector and the high costs of upgrading networks.
A Chorus spokesman said the company had encountered some problems with its "cable ends" but anticipated these would be overcome within four to six weeks. He said the company would pay any refund due as a lump sum to customers.
Meanwhile, the telecoms regulator confirmed yesterday that NTL was complying with its revised schedule to offer digital TV services.
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