That prompted us to carry out a thorough internal review of all tariffs and billing during the summer of 2004. In so doing, we identified our second billing issue, which concerned WAP or Internet-based services accessed over the mobile phone. The issue arose from human error in coding on our systems that had occurred over 19 months earlier. That gives members an idea of the timeframe. We evaluated over 500 million individual call records to get to the bottom of what had been going on. That showed that 550,000 customers had been billed incorrectly at an average of 25 cents per customer per month. We discovered that issue ourselves as a result of the internal review.
No customer complaints alerted it to us, and in the light of the discovery we engaged external consultants to verify the calculations and assist us in identifying process improvements to minimise the risks of such errors recurring. As a result, we have made permanent changes to our tariffing procedures. In total, €2.65 million was proactively refunded to the affected customers. As well as contacting those customers, we advised ComReg and provided it with a full report. In addition, a compensatory payment was made to our customers to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the human error in our operations.
Subsequent research revealed that the level of customer satisfaction with our handling of those issues exceeded 90%. However, we draw scant consolation from that finding, since it was a serious issue that should not have happened. We believe that responding speedily to issues and ensuring open and direct communication with customers was key to that level of satisfaction. We have learnt several things from those incidents. First, since we have introduced more innovative products and services, complex billing mechanisms are involved. That provides a greater challenge to the business to ensure that tariffs are both accurate and clear, something to which we are committed. Second, while systems failures and human errors can never be entirely eliminated, good policies and procedures can minimise the potential for their occurrence. Following the recent internal review of our billing processes, we have implemented process improvements that have been audited by external advisers.
Third, where errors have occurred, we always ensure that customers are refunded. We believe that we have demonstrated that through our actions. We are acting in the best interests of customers. As our customer research has shown, after the billing issues arise, there is strong satisfaction with how we handle them, which is helpful to know, though it does not overcome their impact. In the context of being a socially responsible business, we believe that behaving with integrity is central to success. Without the trust of our customers, we have no business.
As I mentioned, while delivering many benefits to society, mobile phones also generate many new risks and challenges, and addressing those with integrity is key to behaving in a socially responsible manner. Our Vodafone Ireland corporate responsibility programme is extensive and built around three main elements: understanding the expectations of stakeholders in society; leading on the issues that affect the reputation of the mobile sector as a whole; and doing it in a way that differentiates Vodafone in its marketplace.
As chair of the Irish Cellular Industry Association, we have led several initiatives, such as the launch of an industry code of practice, which includes ensuring that parents can have dual access to the telephone accounts of their children, and a parents' guide advising parents on mobile services and the pitfalls as well as benefits of owning a mobile. Shortly, the industry will embark upon the world's first content filtering trial as we seek to protect minors from offensive and dangerous content. Our own responsible marketing programme will introduce age verification and access control processes to ensure that only over-18 year olds can have access to over-18 content. We are also committed to educational issues such as mobile phones and driving and addressing customers' health concerns with factual and relevant information.
As a business, we are also concerned with our impact on the environment and have a large number of programmes in place in the areas of energy efficiency, waste management and handset recycling. From a social investment perspective, last year we established the Vodafone Ireland Foundation. To date, we have donated over €1 million to support over 40 projects, including communities across the country. Last year we sent every member of the committee a copy of our corporate social responsibility report, including the targets that we were setting for the year ahead. We are committed to doing the same with our 2004 report.
In summary, we believe that we have shown that mobile prices are decreasing and that there has been a large number of price reductions since we last spoke to the committee in October 2003. We have shown that the average cost per minute in Ireland is below the European average. That is against the background of the company operating with increasing costs. Energy costs between July 2000 and July 2004 increased by 22%. Electricity costs alone have increased by 40% in the last three years. Insurance premia are now 120% higher than in 1998. The cost of postage for all those bills has increased by 17% this year alone. However, in that high-cost environment, the mobile industry continues to deliver cost savings and price reductions to customers.
I believe that we have demonstrated our commitment to customers to behave with integrity when we make mistakes. Where we unfortunately do so, we are committed to addressing matters and refunding customers to maintain their trust. We are committed to such behaviour in all aspects of our business practices, including our extensive corporate social responsibility programme.
In Ireland, there is a virtuous circle of operation in mobile telecommunications that is driving both investment and innovation. Prices at or below the European average coupled with high consumption of services mean that we are investing at a higher rate in infrastructure and innovative services than elsewhere. On 3G alone, we have committed €250 million on the licence and the initial network roll-out, covering over 60% of the population. That investment will ensure that we play our part in delivering the Government's targets for broadband connectivity. The market is competitive, and if a path of light-handed regulation continues to be followed, competition, innovation and investment will continue to flourish.