Irish O2 customers pay more for mobile services

Irish customers of O2 are paying more for their mobile phone services than consumers in other markets serviced by the group.

O2 Ireland, which is owned by Spanish operator Telefonica, yesterday released figures for the second quarter showing that Irish bill-paying customers spent on average €88 a month between April and June. This compares with average monthly payments of €63 in the UK and €40.67 in Germany.

For prepay customers - those who top up their mobile phone credits as they go - the difference is equally striking, with Irish users spending on average €30 a month on their phone, compared with an average of €17.09 a month in the UK and only €9.75 in Germany. Vodafone earlier this week released figures showing that its Irish customers also pay more for their services than in other European countries.

O2 Ireland, a former subsidiary of BT that was taken over by Telefonica at the end of last year, said yesterday it added 6,000 customers in the three months to the end of June, bringing its total number of subscribers to 1.6 million. This is an increase of 4.5 per cent on the year-earlier period.

In a separate statement, Telefonica said first-half profit for the combined group rose 40 per cent to €2.57 billion, while revenue was up 46 per cent, at €25.2 billion. Telefonica O2 Europe, of which O2 Ireland is a part, had revenue of €5.8 million in the six months to the end of June.