Competition in the mobile phone market increased today with the announced by 3 Ireland that it is to begin a pre-pay service.
Pre-paid mobile phone services represent 76 per cent of the Irish market; 3 Ireland has been in the bill-pay market in Ireland since last July.
Robert Finnegan, managing director at 3 Ireland, said: "We firmly believe our '3Pay' proposition will see us take a significant share of Ireland's pre-pay market, and our 3G credentials and offering will take Ireland's mass market mobile users into the future."
The company will have a three-month introductory offer of voice and video calls for three cent per minute and three cent texts to any Irish network.
The announcement was welcomed by Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey who said it was "good news for Irish mobile phone users".