EU Orders For More Irish Mobile Phone Competition

[vodamod]

The European Union head office ordered Vodafone Group and mmO2 on to open their mobile phone networks to other competitors in Ireland, upholding an initial finding by Irish regulators. European Commission said the decison would lead to greater competition and lower prices for Irish mobile phone users. The two companies currently have 94 percent of the market in Ireland.

Under the EU decision, the companies will have to open talks with competitors to open up and sell access to their networks. Of course mmO2 and Vodafone both deny any allegation of joint dominance and will appeal.


The government-appointed Commission for Communications Regulation said it would order both Vodafone and O2 Ireland, the local unit of mmO2, to open negotiations speedily with other companies that want to operate mobile-phone services in Ireland.


Eircom PLC, the formerly state-owned phone company in Ireland that sold its cellular division to Vodafone in 2001, has expressed interest in re-entering the mobile market. A British firm, Virgin Mobile Holdings, is another possible entrant to the Irish market. Meteor Mobile Communications, a unit of Western Wireless Corp. of Bellevue, Wash., currently holds 6 percent of the Irish market, chiefly in pre-paid phones.


EU officials said the situation in Ireland would be reviewed in one or two years to ensure Vodafone and mmO2 were abiding by the EU decision. The order could have repercussions across the European Union, as the commission continues its effort to ensure other mobile networks in EU nations are also open to competition.