Irish customers discover talk is anything but cheap

Trying to make sense of the performance indicators published by mobile phone firms every quarter is almost as difficult a task as attempting to compare the price plans of the main Irish operators.

The multitude of pay monthly options offered by Vodafone and O2 to contract users have created complicated tariff structures that are almost impossible to compare and contrast. And many of these mobile price plans are so complicated that it is likely thousands of subscribers are paying more than they should simply because they have signed up for the wrong plan.

But there can be few doubts about the key performance figures published by Vodafone Ireland yesterday. The disclosure that subscribers spend an average of €542 a year on mobile services highlight an exceptional performance.

Nowhere else in Europe is Vodafone - the world's biggest mobile company - able to generate these average revenue figures. And if Vodafone maintains its Irish subscriber base this year at about 1.73 million, it will generate about €1 billion during 2003.

So why do the two main Irish firms perform so well and are they charging us too much?

Vodafone and O2 justify the high average revenue figures by arguing that Irish subscribers talk more and use more mobile data services than other Europeans. The companies say this is because there is a young Irish population and also cite other specific cultural factors. Both O2 and Vodafone argue it has nothing to do with the prices they charge.

But the huge profits generated by Vodafone Ireland in the year to the end of March 2002 - some €155 million - will increase consumer suspicion that they are being fleeced by the main firms.

This exceptional operating performance, at a time when many other European mobile firms are saddled with huge debts, should certainly raise a few questions.

Despite arguing that Irish people talk more, Vodafone has not yet published average minutes per user figures for its European firms. Without these figures, accurate comparisons between European subsidiaries are impossible.

Consumers should study their mobile plans to ensure they aren't paying more than they should.