Competition
Eircom retains a virtual monopoly of around 70%, on fixed-line telephony in the State (the only exceptions being those operated by UPC Ireland cable company (formerly NTL Ireland and Chorus), Digiweb Metro and some fibre offerings from BT, Magnet Networks, Smart and Digiweb). Chorus had offered wireless telephony but failed to renew their licence. Eircom is required to allow carrier pre-selection (CPS). Introduced in Ireland in 2001, CPS allows subscribers to use an alternative provider for all their calls, without the need to dial indirect access codes or numbers, although they still receive a bill from Eircom for line rental. Under a wholesale line rental scheme, it is possible for customers, to have a single bill from an alternative provider, for example, BT Ireland, including the cost of Eircom line rental, rather than continuing to receive a separate one from Eircom for this cost. Unlike the UK, where BT's competitors now can charge less than BT for line rental, it is not yet possible for operators in Ireland to buy the lines from Eircom and charge their own rate for line rental, should they wish.
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