The phoney war is over; now the battle for Eircom truly begins. The interest of Tony O'Reilly, who is heading an impressive international consortium, together with that of Denis O'Brien and Dermot Desmond among others, indicates that for all its woes, Eircom is seen as a prize worth having by someone.

It should come as no surprise that it has taken until now for the battle to begin for that part of Eircom which will remain after the sale of a demerged Eircell to Vodafone. After all, until the Vodafone deal offer document emerged, no aspiring bidder for the rump of the company knew what they were buying. What were the restrictions imposed of what will be left of Eircom after the Eircell deal? Could they compete in mobile and, if so, when? What about cable operations? The answers to these questions are now much clearer even if there is no certainty over the eventual victor and the price they pay to shareholders for the prize.