The Irish haven't lost their love of the cúpla focail despite the intrusion of new technologies in the modern world. If anything, people are using new technology to chat more than ever before, writes Jamie Smyth.
Figures released for the first time by mobile phone firm O2 Ireland show subscribers here speak on their mobiles for an average of 188 minutes per month. That is a whopping 79 minutes more than Germans and 81 minutes more than their British counterparts.
O2's Irish operation is the most profitable within the group achieving profit margins of 36 per cent, on the measure of earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation (EBITDA).
This compares with profit margins of just 27 per cent in the more competitive British market, suggesting that the firm could easily pass on price cuts to users.
Certainly with turnover for the year to March 31st, 2003, reaching €686 million, and EBITDA recorded at €239 million, O2 generated bumper profits last year.
Certainly the higher mobile use by Irish subscribers does go some way to explain O2 Ireland's higher profit margins. But with the average punter spending €351 per year on mobile services in the Republic, compared to just €219 in Germany and €247 in Britain, suspicions will remain that mobile fees are too high.
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