Irish Make Smart Move

November 21, 2005 - source: BWCS

Ireland has a new fourth 3G mobile licence holder. The Irish Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has announced its decision to award the final next generation mobile phone franchise to newcomer Smart Mobile. The company will join the fray against the incumbent 3G licensees Vodafone Ireland, O2 Ireland and Hutchison's 3 Ireland.

Smart has been granted the so-called 'B' licence which entitles it to provide third generation mobile services in Ireland for the next 20 years. The 'B' licences allow the winner a slower roll out schedule than the tougher 'A' licences. The terms of the 'B' licences are clear: the winner must provide a minimum coverage Ireland's five major cities and no more. In fact the licensing requirements stipulated a minimum of 53% coverage to be achieved by October 2011. The other three 3G licences were all awarded following a tender process three years ago.

Despite not winning the 3G licence, fixed line operator Eircom, which sold off its mobile unit to Vodafone four years ago, is keen to return to the country's mobile market. In July of this year Eircom agreed to buy Meteor, the third largest GSM operator in Ireland, from Western Wireless its North American owners.

Smart Mobile is said to have won the licence by offering more attractive schedules for its network coverage and infrastructure deployments than its rival bidders.