Meteor has paid a further £1.25 million to get extra radio spectrum so that it can provide a better quality service when it launches the third mobile phone network in the Republic next week.

The extra spectrum was allocated by the telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, who believes the move will provide more competition in the sector.

Mobile phone networks use bands of radio spectrum to carry signals to customers. The quality of service improves as more spectrum becomes available to operators.

Meteor was allocated less spectrum than either Digifone or Eircell because of a scarcity of radio spectrum when the third mobile network was awarded in 1998.

However, the recent relocation of the analogue (088) mobile service has freed up additional spectrum and the regulator has decided to allocate an additional block of 2x2.4 MHz of the 900 MHz band to Meteor.

Ms Doyle said the decision was "in the interests of promoting effective competition between network operators in the mobile market".

Meteor has paid £1.25 million but this is a small investment compared to the £10 million it paid for its licence and the $200 million it will spend on its network rollout across the State.

A Meteor spokesman said the firm would now have 36 channels instead of 24 throughout its network. "This means there is less chance of interference, more capacity on the network and we can build a lasting and robust network," he said.

Analysts believe Meteor will face tough competition when it launches its service next week. The two dominant mobile networks, Eircell and Digifone, have signed up almost twothirds of the population to their networks.

It will also be some time before Meteor completes its network rollout and achieves similar coverage levels to Eircell and Digifone. It is believed Meteor will launch with about 50 per cent coverage.

Meteor, which is majority owned by the US mobile operator Western Wireless, will probably be competing against two of the European mobile heavyweights in British Telecom and Vodafone from April.

The cash resources available to compete against the big two mobile operators have also been called into question, as the firm has allocated just £200,000 for advertising to promote the brand.

However, the decision by Ms Doyle to allocate additional radio spectrum will mean Meteor will at least have a similar quality of service when its network rollout is completed.

All GSM mobile network operators will now have identical allocations of spectrum of 2x7.2 MHz in the 900 MHz band and 2x14.4 MHz in the 1800 MHz band. The Meteor spokesman denied speculation that the company would only offer a prepaid service when it launches next week.

"We will launch with both pre- and post-paid," he said.