THE Republic's second-largest cable company, Irish Multichannel, will enter the telecoms market in May and claims its call charges will be between 50 and 60 per cent cheaper than Telecom Eireann's current rates. However, last night it declined to give specific price details, saying it was too early.
The company, which is aiming its service at both residential and business customers, says it will offer the savings on local, national and international telephone calls.
Irish Multichannel, which is owned by Princes Holdings, an Independent Newspapers subsidiary and TCI, a US-based company, provides cable and MMDS services to 150,000 customers outside Dublin. It has linked up with GTS Ireland, a telecoms service provider formerly known as ITL, to offer phone services.
Irish Multichannel will target its existing customers but says the service is open to all. There will be no minimum monthly fee. Subscribers will be able to retain their existing telephone numbers. It will not require special prefix numbers or pre-paid calling cards.
ITL, which concentrates chiefly on providing services to small and medium-sized companies mainly in Dublin, does not have its own infrastructure. Instead it uses Telecom Eireann to carry its services in the Republic, but has a 44 megabit circuit to Britain which then connects on to the Hermes network in Europe, according to Mr Michael O'Hara, GTS Ireland chief executive.
Customers who wish to take up the service will need to have a router installed in their homes, but they will not be charged for the installation.
Irish Multichannel received its telephony licence last month. The company's director of legal and regulatory affairs, Mr Willie Fagan, said last night that it was the first cable company to offer such telephony services in Ireland - although it will not be using the cable network to do so. Mr Fagan, whose company is bidding for the Cablelink franchise, said the company would eventually offer telecoms services on cable.
Mr Fagan said: "It will really shake up the market," adding that Irish Multichannel would provide a full range of services. A Telecom Eireann spokesman said Irish Multichannel was another player in a competitive market. "The lack of any specific detail, other than a general statement, makes it impossible for us to comment any further."
