Services
Eircom operates the largest fixed-line telecommunications network in the Republic of Ireland, under licence from the Commission for Communications Regulation. Most homes and businesses in the state are connected by this network. A full range of telecommunications services is provided on the network including Business IP, its MPLS platform. Eircom have also completed a wholly owned fibre network ring around Northern Ireland and another around Belfast. Their ISP division, Eircom Net, provides dial-up services, as well as broadband services (see broadband roll-out, below). Eircom Phonewatch provides burglar-alarm and home monitoring services. Any alarm-monitoring products using SMS are "hardcoded" to work with Eircom's SMSC, so will not work on Digiweb, BT, Smart, UPC or Magnet phone networks. DECT SMS handsets are also preprogrammed for Eircom's SMSC. Any competing phone service that is not just carrier pre-selection (CPS) of Eircom must provide their own SMSC, but even when they do, consumers may be unable to migrate from Eircom due to SMSC numbers in equipment that cannot be reprogrammed.
Eircom's mobile arm, Meteor, provides a full range of HSPA/(3G) and GSM-based mobile communication services throughout the Republic of Ireland. Its GSM network operates at 1800 MHz and 900 MHz ranges, as the earlier GSM licences fully utilised the 900 MHz band. GPRS and EDGE data services are also available. Meteor have recently launched HSPA (3G Mobile Broadband) services in Dublin, Cork, Dundalk and Drogheda. Meteor provides both bill-pay (contract) and pre-pay (non-contract) plans and has approximately 19% of the Irish mobile market, with 1,032,000 cellular subscribers on the Meteor Network. The company has used EDGE technology on its network and has received a 3G (UMTS) license, formerly removed from Eircom's competitor, Smart Telecom (This required 33% of the population to be covered by 3G by September 2008.)
As an operator with significant market power, Eircom is required to provide a number of wholesale products to other operators and to switch calls onto other phone networks. Many broadband products offered by other operators are resales of the Eircom product.
Eircom's PhoneWatch subsidiary purports to provide monitored burglar alarms, fire alarms, CCTV systems, and medical alert devices.
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