Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Mobile Telephone Service.

Mr. S. Brennan

Mobile phone coverage is at an all time low. I ask the Minister to embark on a major upgrade of the service. The coverage for mobile phone users has deteriorated significantly in the past six months and I wonder if the Minister and the Government are aware of this.

Mobile phones are no longer the preserve of the yuppie. They have become a tool for trades people, farmers and many other business people. The imminent arrival of competition has had a dramatic impact on prices and mobile phones are now within the reach of many consumers. Many new users have been disappointed at the level of service provided. I have received many complaints in recent weeks concerning the delays in connection, the failure to set up the mobile messaging system and the actual coverage available. Many of those who have complained to me and my colleagues believe there is a serious breakdown in the service, and in some areas a complete breakdown. Coverage is extremely patchy. Large tracts of some counties have no coverage while in many other areas the service fluctuates significantly. Sometimes 087 users have a great subservice and at others they have no service. For 088 users the service has also declined, particularly in recent weeks.

The new subscribers are the most impatient, because their telephones are not being "switched on". They went on radio recently and actively discouraged others from purchasing mobile phones because the service has deteriorated so much with a consequent effect on business.

This new generation of mobile phone user has become a liability for Eircell. The recent push to make sales, without matching it with service has been counterproductive for the company. Existing customers and the new subscribers are, in short, fed up with the existing level of service and are demanding change.

I ask the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications to undertake an urgent review of the coverage for the mobile phone users, the extent of the coverage and the regular breakdowns, particularly in the 087 service. There is a need to ensure that the new operator coming into the market will offer good coverage and will match the supply with the service. I also ask the Minister to examine the price of mobile phone telephone calls which, despite the eminence of competition, continue at an excessively high level for many small companies and individuals who use the service in their everyday lives.

Minister for State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications (Mrs. Doyle)

I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this matter. The invitation for applications for the second GSM telephone licence identified a minimum coverage requirement which the successful applicant would have to achieve within four years of the issue of the licence; this minimum was set at 90 per cent of the population. Applicants for the licence were invited to submit proposals to exceed this minimum requirement. In the case of the successful applicant — ESAT Digifone — proposals for coverage and rollout exceeded the target set by my Department both in terms of the extent of coverage and the time frame in which it was to be achieved.

In its application, ESAT Digifone also gave commitments in relation to the quality of the service to be provided which would ensure that the promise to achieve coverage was not of a minimal nature, but was one of substance and quality. Coverage and service quality commitments included in the application have now been included in the licence signed last week. Compliance with the licence will be monitored by the Department and, when appropriate, by the telecommunications regulator.

I note the Deputy broadened slightly his case from that which had been put down on the Adjournment. I realise I have answered only one part of the case he made here but I have answered in full the case listed on the Adjournment which was that the Deputy wanted to ensure that the second mobile telephone operator delivered good coverage. I hope I have answered that point specifically. I will refer the other points directly to the Minister, Deputy Lowry.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Hugh Byrne was selected by me to raise a matter on the Adjournment. However, I understand the Deputy is unavoidably absent and wishes to extend his apologies to the House, the Minister and the Department concerned.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 May 1996.