104-563: Eircom Limited , trading as Eir ( / ɛər / AIR ; stylised eir ), is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey , traces its origins to the Ireland's former state-owned monopoly telecommunication provider Telecom Éireann and its predecessors, P&T (the Dept. of Posts and Telegraphs) and before
208-412: A thermionic tube or thermionic valve uses thermionic emission of electrons from a heated cathode for a number of fundamental electronic functions such as signal amplification and current rectification . The simplest vacuum tube, the diode invented in 1904 by John Ambrose Fleming , contains only a heated electron-emitting cathode and an anode. Electrons can only flow in one direction through
312-411: A radio broadcasting station , the station's large power amplifier is the transmitter and the broadcasting antenna is the interface between the power amplifier and the free space channel. The free space channel is the transmission medium and the receiver's antenna is the interface between the free space channel and the receiver. Next, the radio receiver is the destination of the radio signal, where it
416-455: A state-sponsored body , see Telecom Éireann .) From 1991 to 2013, Eir's subsidiaries included Phonewatch , then known as Eircom Phonewatch, which provides home monitoring services, monitored burglar-alarms , fire alarms, CCTV systems, and medical alert devices. In May 2013, it announced that Phonewatch had been sold to Oslo-based company, Sector Alarm Corporation . From 1999 to 2006 sponsored RTE Weather and from 2000 to 2008, Eircom sponsored
520-827: A FTTH network using ESB's physical infrastructure to carry fibres to individual homes and businesses. Imagine Communications , Digiweb and several other smaller ISPs also operate their own wireless networks using various technologies. Eir also faces retail competition from Vodafone, Sky , Digiweb and a large number of smaller ISPs using a mix wholesale access from Open Eir and SIRO to reach their customers. Eir also faces competition from mobile operators and MVNOs both for its own mobile services and also as fixed line replacement products. All mobile operators are capable of offering very competitive voice services and high speed 4G and increasingly 5G connectivity, which can often be faster than fixed services, particularly first generation NGA products using VDSL and fibre to cabinet, which can only offer
624-704: A Golf Resort in County Wicklow. Customers include University College Dublin (UCD), Ordnance Survey Ireland and Dublin City Council . Eir Business NI is the name of the company's operations in Northern Ireland. With the division based in Belfast , Eir own and operate a fibre-optic network ring around Belfast and Northern Ireland, linking into the national Eir Network in the rest of Ireland. Eir Business NI have won significant contracts thus far,
728-411: A better price for their goods. In Côte d'Ivoire , coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly variations in coffee prices and sell at the best price. On the macroeconomic scale, Lars-Hendrik Röller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view
832-554: A breach of the Data Protection Act at the Dublin District Court. On 12 April 2018, Eir announced that they would cut 750 jobs. This would mean that 10,000 jobs would have been lost since its peak number of jobs of 13,000 The job cuts came just days after the takeover of the company by French entrepreneur Xavier Niel . On 21 April 2008, Eircom rejected claims by four major record companies that it, as
936-438: A caveat for it in 1876. Gray abandoned his caveat and because he did not contest Bell's priority, the examiner approved Bell's patent on March 3, 1876. Gray had filed his caveat for the variable resistance telephone, but Bell was the first to document the idea and test it in a telephone.[88] Antonio Meucci invented a device that allowed the electrical transmission of voice over a line nearly 30 years before in 1849, but his device
1040-441: A connection between two or more users. For both types of networks, repeaters may be necessary to amplify or recreate the signal when it is being transmitted over long distances. This is to combat attenuation that can render the signal indistinguishable from the noise. Another advantage of digital systems over analogue is that their output is easier to store in memory, i.e., two voltage states (high and low) are easier to store than
1144-495: A continuous range of states. Telecommunication has a significant social, cultural and economic impact on modern society. In 2008, estimates placed the telecommunication industry 's revenue at US$ 4.7 trillion or just under three per cent of the gross world product (official exchange rate). Several following sections discuss the impact of telecommunication on society. On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunications to help build global business empires. This
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#17327879319751248-670: A fair basis. In relation to terrestrial television and radio, the commission acts in conjunction with Coimisiún na Meán (formerly the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland ). After the enactment of the Broadcasting Act 2009 RTÉ and TG4 authorities were disbanded and now come under Coimisiún na Meán's remit. ComReg is also tasked with enforcing wireless telegraphy legislation, in particular the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926 , in relation to use of
1352-406: A higher-frequency signal (known as the " carrier wave ") before transmission. There are several different modulation schemes available to achieve this [two of the most basic being amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM)]. An example of this process is a disc jockey's voice being impressed into a 96 MHz carrier wave using frequency modulation (the voice would then be received on
1456-450: A key advantage of digital signals over analogue signals. However, digital systems fail catastrophically when noise exceeds the system's ability to autocorrect. On the other hand, analogue systems fail gracefully: as noise increases, the signal becomes progressively more degraded but still usable. Also, digital transmission of continuous data unavoidably adds quantization noise to the output. This can be reduced, but not eliminated, only at
1560-436: A maximum of 100 Mbit/s. ADSL services which are much slower again. 4G and 5G fixed-mobile services, using routers and external antennae have also become viable competitors in many rural and quasi rural areas. These offer ample and affordable data plans and very high speeds and a number of operators have designed products targeting homes and businesses using both existing mobile and dedicated LTE and 5G networks. Eir operates
1664-838: A new international frequency list and used in conformity with the Radio Regulation". According to the ITU's Radio Regulations adopted in Atlantic City, all frequencies referenced in the International Frequency Registration Board , examined by the board and registered on the International Frequency List "shall have the right to international protection from harmful interference". From a global perspective, there have been political debates and legislation regarding
1768-508: A number of smaller players including Digiweb . The company is the third largest player in the Irish mobile market, with 23% of the market, behind Three Ireland 29.3% and Vodafone Ireland 33.9% (These figures exclude mobile broadband and machine to machine communications). After the privatisation of Telecom Éireann , the highly profitable mobile phone division, Eircell , was sold to Vodafone. Some consider this act to be asset stripping by
1872-437: A person's age, interests, sexual preference and relationship status. In this way, these sites can play important role in everything from organising social engagements to courtship . Prior to social networking sites, technologies like short message service (SMS) and the telephone also had a significant impact on social interactions. In 2000, market research group Ipsos MORI reported that 81% of 15- to 24-year-old SMS users in
1976-491: A radio as the channel "96 FM"). In addition, modulation has the advantage that it may use frequency division multiplexing (FDM). A telecommunications network is a collection of transmitters, receivers, and communications channels that send messages to one another. Some digital communications networks contain one or more routers that work together to transmit information to the correct user. An analogue communications network consists of one or more switches that establish
2080-480: A separate brand, with a secondary brand eMobile used to complement Eircom landline products. The Meteor brand was subsequently dropped, and the mobile network became a core part of the main Eir brand. Eir Business Ireland is the corporate and SME operations in the Ireland. Eir Business sponsored Irish sporting events including the " Dubai Duty Free Irish Open " in the K Club. It secured business contracts with Druids Glen
2184-475: A service that operated for a year until the gap in the telegraph link was closed. In the Middle Ages, chains of beacons were commonly used on hilltops as a means of relaying a signal. Beacon chains suffered the drawback that they could only pass a single bit of information, so the meaning of the message such as "the enemy has been sighted" had to be agreed upon in advance. One notable instance of their use
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#17327879319752288-442: A single medium to transmit several concurrent communication sessions . Several methods of long-distance communication before the modern era used sounds like coded drumbeats , the blowing of horns , and whistles . Long-distance technologies invented during the 20th and 21st centuries generally use electric power, and include the telegraph , telephone , television , and radio . Early telecommunication networks used metal wires as
2392-610: A subsidiary of Valentia, and O'Reilly took the reins as Executive chairman. On 19 March 2004, the company returned to the stock market (although the company being listed, Eircom Group plc , was in fact a new holding company, and was registered in England and Wales rather than in Ireland). The company floated at €1.55 a share, but dipped on initial trading before recovering to trade above its float price. In early 2005, several Irish newspapers reported that Meteor Mobile Communications ,
2496-411: A telephone network, the caller is connected to the person to whom they wish to talk by switches at various telephone exchanges . The switches form an electrical connection between the two users and the setting of these switches is determined electronically when the caller dials the number. Once the connection is made, the caller's voice is transformed to an electrical signal using a small microphone in
2600-412: A version of the electrical telegraph that he unsuccessfully demonstrated on September 2, 1837. His code was an important advance over Wheatstone's signaling method. The first transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully completed on July 27, 1866, allowing transatlantic telecommunication for the first time. The conventional telephone was patented by Alexander Bell in 1876. Elisha Gray also filed
2704-594: A wholesale fixed-line network through its Open Eir unit, providing copper and fibre based access products to a wide range of Irish telecommunications companies. Its services include next generation access products, such as FTTH , FTTC (VDSL) and legacy copper based services, including ADSL and classic digital circuit switched products like PSTN and ISDN. It also offers a range of legacy leased line services. The company's retail division markets these services directly to homes and businesses, and includes value added services like Eir TV and voice over broadband for home users and
2808-485: A wide range of digital services tailored to business customers. Eir operates a national mobile network both under its own Eir brand and GoMo , a value-focused, online-only sub-brand. The network provides 2G , 3G , 4G and 5G services and ancillary services such as WiFi Calling and VoLTE . In the third quarter of 2019, Eir accounted for 39% of the Ireland's fixed voice market retail revenue and 45.3% market share by fixed-line retail and wholesale revenue and 19.1% of
2912-581: Is adapted from the French, because its written use was recorded in 1904 by the French engineer and novelist Édouard Estaunié . Communication was first used as an English word in the late 14th century. It comes from Old French comunicacion (14c., Modern French communication), from Latin communicationem (nominative communication), noun of action from past participle stem of communicare, "to share, divide out; communicate, impart, inform; join, unite, participate in," literally, "to make common", from communis". At
3016-671: Is called point-to-point communication because it occurs between a transmitter and a receiver. Telecommunication through radio broadcasts is called broadcast communication because it occurs between a powerful transmitter and numerous low-power but sensitive radio receivers. Telecommunications in which multiple transmitters and multiple receivers have been designed to cooperate and share the same physical channel are called multiplex systems . The sharing of physical channels using multiplexing often results in significant cost reduction. Multiplexed systems are laid out in telecommunication networks and multiplexed signals are switched at nodes through to
3120-451: Is called (in the jargon of the field) " quadrature amplitude modulation " (QAM) that are used in high-capacity digital radio communication systems. Modulation can also be used to transmit the information of low-frequency analogue signals at higher frequencies. This is helpful because low-frequency analogue signals cannot be effectively transmitted over free space. Hence the information from a low-frequency analogue signal must be impressed into
3224-434: Is commonly called "keying" —a term derived from the older use of Morse Code in telecommunications—and several keying techniques exist (these include phase-shift keying , frequency-shift keying , and amplitude-shift keying ). The " Bluetooth " system, for example, uses phase-shift keying to exchange information between various devices. In addition, there are combinations of phase-shift keying and amplitude-shift keying which
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3328-794: Is converted from electricity to sound. Telecommunication systems are occasionally "duplex" (two-way systems) with a single box of electronics working as both the transmitter and a receiver, or a transceiver (e.g., a mobile phone ). The transmission electronics and the receiver electronics within a transceiver are quite independent of one another. This can be explained by the fact that radio transmitters contain power amplifiers that operate with electrical powers measured in watts or kilowatts, but radio receivers deal with radio powers measured in microwatts or nanowatts . Hence, transceivers have to be carefully designed and built to isolate their high-power circuitry and their low-power circuitry from each other to avoid interference. Telecommunication over fixed lines
3432-481: Is degraded by undesirable noise . Commonly, the noise in a communication system can be expressed as adding or subtracting from the desirable signal via a random process . This form of noise is called additive noise , with the understanding that the noise can be negative or positive at different instances. Unless the additive noise disturbance exceeds a certain threshold, the information contained in digital signals will remain intact. Their resistance to noise represents
3536-432: Is not just carrier pre-selection (CPS) of Eir must provide their own SMSC, but even when they do, consumers may be unable to migrate from Eir due to SMSC numbers in equipment that cannot be reprogrammed. Eir's mobile arm provides a full range of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G-based mobile communication services throughout Ireland. Its GSM network operates at 1800 MHz and 900 MHz ranges, as the earlier GSM licences fully utilised
3640-469: 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 Eir product. The company was formed in 1984 as Bord Telecom Éireann , under the Posts and Telecommunications Act 1983. (This article deals mainly with the post-privatisation Eir; for details of the company during its time as
3744-609: Is self-evident in the case of online retailer Amazon.com but, according to academic Edward Lenert, even the conventional retailer Walmart has benefited from better telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In cities throughout the world, home owners use their telephones to order and arrange a variety of home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh 's Narsingdi District , isolated villagers use cellular phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange
3848-448: Is separated from its adjacent stations by 200 kHz, and the difference between 200 kHz and 180 kHz (20 kHz) is an engineering allowance for the imperfections in the communication system. In the example above, the "free space channel" has been divided into communications channels according to frequencies , and each channel is assigned a separate frequency bandwidth in which to broadcast radio waves. This system of dividing
3952-449: Is the informational equivalent of two newspaper pages per person per day in 1986, and six entire newspapers per person per day by 2007. Given this growth, telecommunications play an increasingly important role in the world economy and the global telecommunications industry was about a $ 4.7 trillion sector in 2012. The service revenue of the global telecommunications industry was estimated to be $ 1.5 trillion in 2010, corresponding to 2.4% of
4056-569: Is the transmission of information with an immediacy comparable to face-to-face communication. As such, slow communications technologies like postal mail and pneumatic tubes are excluded from the definition. Many transmission media have been used for telecommunications throughout history, from smoke signals , beacons , semaphore telegraphs , signal flags , and optical heliographs to wires and empty space made to carry electromagnetic signals. These paths of transmission may be divided into communication channels for multiplexing , allowing for
4160-471: The Irish Government to buy shares. The share price was set at €3.90, later reaching a high of €4.80, a 23% increase. Those initial investors who held onto their shares, until July 2000, received a 4% bonus-share allocation. The Eircom flotation is considered to have been an example of a stock market bubble — after the initial hype of the flotation died down, the stock price fell rapidly. Many of
4264-844: The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and allowing up to three warnings before disconnection of service. As of 5 December 2013, Eir users who try to access The Pirate Bay receive the following message: Eircom agreed to a controversial deal with the IRMA to activate a "three strikes system" so that users would be banned from the Internet for seven days if they appeared to be downloading copyrighted content through peer to peer filesharing networks. [REDACTED] Media related to Eircom at Wikimedia Commons Telecommunications Telecommunication , often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom ,
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4368-609: The League of Ireland . Although EU laws required the opening of the Irish telecommunications market, Ireland had a derogation from competition until 2003. Telecom Éireann was privatised; the process began in 1995, and by July 1999 the government had disposed of virtually all of its shareholding. This was very controversial and subject to much debate. Eircom plc was then floated on the Irish , London and New York Stock Exchanges on 8 July 1999, and small/first-time investors were encouraged by
4472-773: The Nipkow disk by Paul Nipkow and thus became known as the mechanical television . It formed the basis of experimental broadcasts done by the British Broadcasting Corporation beginning on 30 September 1929. However, for most of the 20th century, televisions depended on the cathode ray tube invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun . The first version of such a television to show promise was produced by Philo Farnsworth and demonstrated to his family on 7 September 1927. After World War II, interrupted experiments resumed and television became an important home entertainment broadcast medium. The type of device known as
4576-677: The Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation ( ODTR ), amongst other bodies. The ODTR was established in 1997 to take over the licensing and regulatory functions of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication which related primarily to broadcasting and communications. The first (and only) Director of Telecommunications Regulation was Etain Doyle , who was subsequently appointed Chairperson of ComReg, on its establishment. Under
4680-440: The spark gap transmitter for radio or mechanical computers for computing, it was the invention of the thermionic vacuum tube that made these technologies widespread and practical, leading to the creation of electronics . In the 1940s, the invention of semiconductor devices made it possible to produce solid-state devices, which are smaller, cheaper, and more efficient, reliable, and durable than thermionic tubes. Starting in
4784-705: The 1932 Plenipotentiary Telegraph Conference and the International Radiotelegraph Conference in Madrid, the two organizations merged to form the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). They defined telecommunication as "any telegraphic or telephonic communication of signs, signals, writing, facsimiles and sounds of any kind, by wire, wireless or other systems or processes of electric signaling or visual signaling (semaphores)." The definition
4888-497: The 1970s. In the 1960s, Paul Baran and, independently, Donald Davies started to investigate packet switching , a technology that sends a message in portions to its destination asynchronously without passing it through a centralized mainframe . A four-node network emerged on 5 December 1969, constituting the beginnings of the ARPANET , which by 1981 had grown to 213 nodes . ARPANET eventually merged with other networks to form
4992-540: The 500,000 small investors were angered by the significant financial loss they incurred, blaming the government for not sufficiently warning them of the risks inherent in stock-market investment. Eircom was designated by ComReg as the organisation with ownership of the National Directory Database (NDD) and a Universal White Pages (UWP) directory; the unit within Eircom responsible for providing these
5096-467: The 6 channel Eir Sport pack. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. In May 2021, it was announced that eir Sport would cease operations by the end of 2021. Eir operates a full service mobile telephone network across Ireland providing full 5G connectivity as well as 4G, 3G and 2G services. Eircom purchased Ireland's 3rd mobile network, Meteor in 2005 initially operating it as
5200-525: The 900 MHz band. GPRS and EDGE data services are also available. Eir mobile provide both bill pay (contract) and prepay (non-contract) plans and has approximately 19% of the Irish mobile market, with 1,032,000 cellular subscribers on the Eir Mobile network. The company has used EDGE technology on its network and has received a 3G (UMTS) license, formally removed from Eir's competitor, Smart Telecom . As an operator with significant market power, Eir
5304-714: The Australian investment group Babcock & Brown as part of a deal worth €2.4 billion. The Employee Share Ownership Trust, which represents workers at the company, was to remain a minority shareholder. The sale was approved by shareholders on 26 July 2006, and at close of business on 17 August 2006, the shares were delisted from the Official Lists of the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, ending Eircom's second period on
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#17327879319755408-517: The BCI, with the view to take over operations of the Irish pay DTT service. It was hoped that the launch of OneVision would happen in late 2010/early 2011 at a proposed operation cost of €40 million. OneVision aspired to offer 23 channels coinciding with the free-to-air channels. However, OneVision subsequently dropped out of negotiations with the BCI. In 2013 Eir began providing a TV service along with its Eir Fibre service called Eir Vision. Eircom notified
5512-487: The Communications Regulation Act, 2002 the Minister for Communications, Marine, and Natural Resources appoints the chairperson and up to two other commissioners of ComReg. Currently the commissioners are Garrett Blaney, Helen Dixon and Robert Mourik. Sectors regulated by ComReg include post , telecoms , internet , cable television , terrestrial television , radio and domain name under
5616-447: The Communications Regulation Act, 2002 (No. 20 of 2002), S.I. No. 510 of 2002 Communications Regulation Act 2002 (Establishment Day) Order 2002 and other acts. For a full list of legislation underpinning ComReg's responsibilities. ComReg set prices, allocate frequencies, and issue licenses to those involved in these sectors and provides statistical data, consumer product price comparisons to assist consumers in achieving value for money on
5720-466: The ITU was able to compile an index that measures the overall ability of citizens to access and use information and communication technologies. Using this measure, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland received the highest ranking while the African countries Niger , Burkina Faso and Mali received the lowest. Telecommunication has played a significant role in social relationships. Nevertheless, devices like
5824-688: The Internet. While Internet development was a focus of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) who published a series of Request for Comments documents, other networking advancements occurred in industrial laboratories , such as the local area network (LAN) developments of Ethernet (1983), Token Ring (1984) and Star network topology. The effective capacity to exchange information worldwide through two-way telecommunication networks grew from 281 petabytes (PB) of optimally compressed information in 1986 to 471 PB in 1993 to 2.2 exabytes (EB) in 2000 to 65 EB in 2007. This
5928-506: The United Kingdom had used the service to coordinate social arrangements and 42% to flirt. In cultural terms, telecommunication has increased the public's ability to access music and film. With television, people can watch films they have not seen before in their own home without having to travel to the video store or cinema. With radio and the Internet, people can listen to music they have not heard before without having to travel to
6032-797: The United States was spent on media that depend upon telecommunication. Many countries have enacted legislation which conforms to the International Telecommunication Regulations established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is the "leading UN agency for information and communication technology issues". In 1947, at the Atlantic City Conference, the ITU decided to "afford international protection to all frequencies registered in
6136-621: The appointment of an examiner . The examinership lasted until 11 June 2012; the restructuring removed €1.7 billion of debt from the balance sheet, a reduction of 40% of group debt. Eir retains the largest share of the fixed line market in Ireland, with 27.6% of the broadband market, 32.7% of the FTTP market, 38.9% of fixed line retail and wholesale revenues and 44.3% of fixed line voice subscriptions, with competition from Virgin Media Ireland , BT Ireland , Vodafone Ireland , Sky Ireland and
6240-524: The cable operator Cablelink (the other 25% was owned by RTÉ ). Cablelink was sold to NTL in 1999 and subsequently bought by UPC . As Eircom, Eir joined a consortium with TV3 Group , Arqiva , and Setanta Sports called OneVision to apply for the Commercial licence for DTT . On 1 May 2009 Fintan Drury, chairman of the OneVision consortium, announced that OneVision was to enter negotiations with
6344-520: The caller's handset . This electrical signal is then sent through the network to the user at the other end where it is transformed back into sound by a small speaker in that person's handset. Commission for Communications Regulation The Commission for Communications Regulation ( ComReg ) ( Irish : An Coimisiún um Rialáil Cumarsáide ) is the general communications regulator for Ireland , covering almost all possible types of communications. Founded on 1 December 2002, ComReg took over from
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#17327879319756448-437: The correct destination terminal receiver. Communications can be encoded as analogue or digital signals , which may in turn be carried by analogue or digital communication systems. Analogue signals vary continuously with respect to the information, while digital signals encode information as a set of discrete values (e.g., a set of ones and zeroes). During propagation and reception, information contained in analogue signals
6552-519: The development of optical fibre. The Internet , a technology independent of any given medium, has provided global access to services for individual users and further reduced location and time limitations on communications. Telecommunication is a compound noun of the Greek prefix tele- (τῆλε), meaning distant , far off , or afar , and the Latin verb communicare , meaning to share . Its modern use
6656-537: The device—from the cathode to the anode. Adding one or more control grids within the tube enables the current between the cathode and anode to be controlled by the voltage on the grid or grids. These devices became a key component of electronic circuits for the first half of the 20th century and were crucial to the development of radio, television, radar, sound recording and reproduction , long-distance telephone networks, and analogue and early digital computers . While some applications had used earlier technologies such as
6760-422: The electrical telegraph, the last commercial line was abandoned in 1880. On July 25, 1837, the first commercial electrical telegraph was demonstrated by English inventor Sir William Fothergill Cooke and English scientist Sir Charles Wheatstone . Both inventors viewed their device as "an improvement to the [existing] electromagnetic telegraph" and not as a new device. Samuel Morse independently developed
6864-403: The expense of increasing the channel bandwidth requirement. The term "channel" has two different meanings. In one meaning, a channel is the physical medium that carries a signal between the transmitter and the receiver. Examples of this include the atmosphere for sound communications, glass optical fibres for some kinds of optical communications , coaxial cables for communications by way of
6968-755: The foundation of the state, the telecommunications division of the GPO . It remains the largest telecommunications operator in Ireland and has overseas operations focused on the business and corporate telecom markets in the United Kingdom. The company was in majority state ownership until 1999, when it was privatised through a floatation on the Irish and New York Stock Exchanges. Eir is currently majority owned by Xavier Niel 's Iliad SA and his Paris-based NJJ Telecom Europe investment fund (64.5%). The group includes French telecommunications provider Free and Iliad Italia . Other major investors include Anchorage Capital Group (26.6%), and Davidson Kempner (8.9%). Eir operates
7072-431: The importance of social conversations and staying connected to family and friends. Since then the role that telecommunications has played in social relations has become increasingly important. In recent years, the popularity of social networking sites has increased dramatically. These sites allow users to communicate with each other as well as post photographs, events and profiles for others to see. The profiles can list
7176-587: The large investors with interests in what later became Eircom. Eircom announced in June 2007 that from 30 July line rental charges would increase by €1.18 bringing line rental charges - already the most expensive in Europe - to a total of €25.36 per month for a PSTN analogue line, one source indicated it was the highest line-rental charge in the world. Also announced was an increase of between 4.8 and 4.9% on local and national calls. In March 2011, Eircom pleaded guilty to
7280-556: The largest being the €70m "Network NI" contract for the Northern Ireland Civil Service , with other significant contracts as operator of choice for Northern Ireland Schools and Libraries, NIE, Viridian, Wright Group, Chain Reaction Cycles and many more large enterprise brands. The company in Northern Ireland provides services to local government and SME sectors. As Telecom Éireann, Eir owned 75% of
7384-526: The largest broadband internet service provider in the state, must bear some liability for the illegal free downloading of music by computer users. Eir have thus far managed to come to an agreement with the companies involved, stating that they will be working in conjunction with these companies to prevent large amounts of copyrighted material being shared through the ISP. This in turn raised concerns over internet privacy , since presumably this would be enforced through
7488-848: The largest fixed-line telecommunications network in Ireland, under licence from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). Most homes and businesses in the state are dependent on their network. A range of telecommunications services is provided on the network including Business IP, its MPLS platform. Eir have also completed a wholly owned fibre network ring around Northern Ireland and another around Belfast . Their ISP division, Eir Net, provides dial-up services, as well as broadband services (see broadband roll-out, below). Any alarm-monitoring products using SMS are "hardcoded" to work with Eir's SMSC, so will not work on Digiweb, BT, Smart, UPC or Magnet phone networks. DECT SMS handsets are also preprogrammed for Eir's SMSC. Any competing phone service that
7592-552: The management of telecommunication and broadcasting. The history of broadcasting discusses some debates in relation to balancing conventional communication such as printing and telecommunication such as radio broadcasting. The onset of World War II brought on the first explosion of international broadcasting propaganda. Countries, their governments, insurgents, terrorists, and militiamen have all used telecommunication and broadcasting techniques to promote propaganda. Patriotic propaganda for political movements and colonization started
7696-479: The medium for transmitting signals. These networks were used for telegraphy and telephony for many decades. In the first decade of the 20th century, a revolution in wireless communication began with breakthroughs including those made in radio communications by Guglielmo Marconi , who won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics . Other early pioneers in electrical and electronic telecommunications include co-inventors of
7800-567: The medium into channels according to frequency is called " frequency-division multiplexing ". Another term for the same concept is " wavelength-division multiplexing ", which is more commonly used in optical communications when multiple transmitters share the same physical medium. Another way of dividing a communications medium into channels is to allocate each sender a recurring segment of time (a "time slot", for example, 20 milliseconds out of each second), and to allow each sender to send messages only within its own time slot. This method of dividing
7904-414: The medium into communication channels is called " time-division multiplexing " ( TDM ), and is used in optical fibre communication. Some radio communication systems use TDM within an allocated FDM channel. Hence, these systems use a hybrid of TDM and FDM. The shaping of a signal to convey information is known as modulation . Modulation can be used to represent a digital message as an analogue waveform. This
8008-742: The mid-1930s. In 1936, the BBC broadcast propaganda to the Arab World to partly counter similar broadcasts from Italy, which also had colonial interests in North Africa. Modern political debates in telecommunication include the reclassification of broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service (also called net neutrality ), regulation of phone spam , and expanding affordable broadband access. According to data collected by Gartner and Ars Technica sales of main consumer's telecommunication equipment worldwide in millions of units was: In
8112-596: The mid-1960s, thermionic tubes were replaced with the transistor . Thermionic tubes still have some applications for certain high-frequency amplifiers. On 11 September 1940, George Stibitz transmitted problems for his Complex Number Calculator in New York using a teletype and received the computed results back at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire . This configuration of a centralized computer ( mainframe ) with remote dumb terminals remained popular well into
8216-475: The mobile market (excluding mobile broadband and machine-to-machine subscriptions) or 15.6% of total subscriptions. Eir had 31.4% of fixed broadband subscriptions (comprising FTTH, FTTC/VDSL and ADSL) and 42.7% of FTTP subscriptions. Its main fixed access infrastructure owning competitors are Virgin Media Ireland (which operates a cable TV and broadband network) and SIRO , a joint venture between publicly owned energy supplier, ESB and Vodafone . SIRO operates
8320-465: The monitoring of IP traffic associated with Eir's customers. It is not known whether or not this bears any significance on the Meteor Mobile network, a mobile broadband supplier acquired by Eir. Eircom has reportedly signed an out-of-court settlement with said companies and are initiating a program to clamp down on piracy, within their network, by instituting an IP monitoring service, accessible by
8424-452: The music store. Telecommunication has also transformed the way people receive their news. A 2006 survey (right table) of slightly more than 3,000 Americans by the non-profit Pew Internet and American Life Project in the United States the majority specified television or radio over newspapers. Telecommunication has had an equally significant impact on advertising. TNS Media Intelligence reported that in 2007, 58% of advertising expenditure in
8528-400: The neighbourhood of 94.5 MHz (megahertz) while another radio station can simultaneously broadcast radio waves at frequencies in the neighbourhood of 96.1 MHz. Each radio station would transmit radio waves over a frequency bandwidth of about 180 kHz (kilohertz), centred at frequencies such as the above, which are called the "carrier frequencies" . Each station in this example
8632-515: The presence or absence of an atmosphere between the two. Radio waves travel through a perfect vacuum just as easily as they travel through air, fog, clouds, or any other kind of gas. The other meaning of the term "channel" in telecommunications is seen in the phrase communications channel , which is a subdivision of a transmission medium so that it can be used to send multiple streams of information simultaneously. For example, one radio station can broadcast radio waves into free space at frequencies in
8736-604: The public in February 2012 that they had decided to no longer honour their debt, had entered default status and would not continue as a going concern. Eircom gave notification that they had cancelled a mandatory interest payment on their publicly-traded senior corporate bond, then due to mature in 2016. On 29 March 2012, a number of companies within the Eircom Group presented a petition to the Irish High Court for
8840-709: The relationship as causal. Because of the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure, there is increasing worry about the inequitable access to telecommunication services amongst various countries of the world—this is known as the digital divide . A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly a third of countries have fewer than one mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have fewer than one land-line telephone subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of all countries have fewer than one out of 20 people with Internet access. From this information, as well as educational data,
8944-478: The stock markets. The same day, Phillip Nolan resigned as chief executive of Eircom, and on 1 September Rex Comb was officially named as the new CEO. Tony O'Reilly resigned as chairman and was replaced by Pierre Danon , previously of BT Group plc and JP Morgan Chase . Babcock & Brown have since collapsed as a company and their BCM vehicle, which owns over 50% of Eir, broke all ties with the former parent and rebranded themselves as Eircom Holdings Limited. Eircom
9048-599: The subject of a bidding war between two consortia: the E-Island consortium headed by Denis O'Brien , and the Valentia Consortium headed by Tony O'Reilly , the chairman of Independent News and Media . Eventually in November 2001, the company agreed to a recommended offer of €1.335 per Eircom share. Eircom Plc was delisted from the stock exchange, became Eircom Limited, a private limited company by shares and
9152-609: The telegraph Charles Wheatstone and Samuel Morse , numerous inventors and developers of the telephone including Antonio Meucci , Philipp Reis , Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell , inventors of radio Edwin Armstrong and Lee de Forest , as well as inventors of television like Vladimir K. Zworykin , John Logie Baird and Philo Farnsworth . Since the 1960s, the proliferation of digital technologies has meant that voice communications have gradually been supplemented by data. The physical limitations of metallic media prompted
9256-412: The telephone system were originally advertised with an emphasis on the practical dimensions of the device (such as the ability to conduct business or order home services) as opposed to the social dimensions. It was not until the late 1920s and 1930s that the social dimensions of the device became a prominent theme in telephone advertisements. New promotions started appealing to consumers' emotions, stressing
9360-631: The then-newly discovered phenomenon of radio waves , demonstrating, by 1901, that they could be transmitted across the Atlantic Ocean. This was the start of wireless telegraphy by radio. On 17 December 1902, a transmission from the Marconi station in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada , became the world's first radio message to cross the Atlantic from North America. In 1904, a commercial service
9464-448: The third mobile phone operator, was up for sale by its owners, Western Wireless . It was considered that this afforded Eircom an opportunity to re-enter the mobile communications market. On 9 July 2005, The Irish Times reported three bidders for Meteor: Eircom, Smart Telecom , and a consortium led by Denis O'Brien . On 14 July 2005 RTÉ News reported on their business website that Denis O'Brien had withdrawn from bidding, and that it
9568-490: The voltages and electric currents in them, and free space for communications using visible light , infrared waves, ultraviolet light , and radio waves . Coaxial cable types are classified by RG type or "radio guide", terminology derived from World War II. The various RG designations are used to classify the specific signal transmission applications. This last channel is called the "free space channel". The sending of radio waves from one place to another has nothing to do with
9672-492: The wartime purposes of aircraft and land communication, radio navigation, and radar. Development of stereo FM broadcasting of radio began in the 1930s in the United States and the 1940s in the United Kingdom, displacing AM as the dominant commercial standard in the 1970s. On March 25, 1925, John Logie Baird demonstrated the transmission of moving pictures at the London department store Selfridges . Baird's device relied upon
9776-418: The world's gross domestic product (GDP). Modern telecommunication is founded on a series of key concepts that experienced progressive development and refinement in a period of well over a century: Telecommunication technologies may primarily be divided into wired and wireless methods. Overall, a basic telecommunication system consists of three main parts that are always present in some form or another: In
9880-416: Was also successful in bidding for a 4G LTE License from Comreg , which permitted Meteor and eMobile to launch 4G services in 2013. In September 2015, Eircom announced that it would re-brand as eir as part of a new imaging campaign developed by Moving Brands. Described as being "dynamic and modern", the new brand was adopted across most of Eircom's businesses (excluding Meteor), and an advertising campaign
9984-490: Was during the Spanish Armada , when a beacon chain relayed a signal from Plymouth to London . In 1792, Claude Chappe , a French engineer, built the first fixed visual telegraphy system (or semaphore line ) between Lille and Paris. However semaphore suffered from the need for skilled operators and expensive towers at intervals of ten to thirty kilometres (six to nineteen miles). As a result of competition from
10088-407: Was established to transmit nightly news summaries to subscribing ships, which incorporated them into their onboard newspapers. World War I accelerated the development of radio for military communications . After the war, commercial radio AM broadcasting began in the 1920s and became an important mass medium for entertainment and news. World War II again accelerated the development of radio for
10192-622: Was introduced to promote the new name and slogan, "Live life on eir". In December 2017, Iliad SA announced that it would be acquiring a 32.9% stake in the company with an option to take control of the Irish operator through a call option, which is exercisable in 2024. Eir Sport commenced broadcasting on 5 July 2016 following the takeover of Setanta Sports by Eir. Two Irish commercial stations, Eir Sport 1 (formerly Setanta Ireland) and Eir Sport 2 (formerly Setanta Sports 1), join BT Sport 1 , BT Sport 2, BT Sport Europe and BT Sport ESPN to make up
10296-471: Was later reconfirmed, according to Article 1.3 of the ITU Radio Regulations , which defined it as "Any transmission , emission or reception of signs, signals, writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire , radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems". Homing pigeons have been used throughout history by different cultures. Pigeon post had Persian roots and
10400-676: Was later used by the Romans to aid their military. Frontinus claimed Julius Caesar used pigeons as messengers in his conquest of Gaul . The Greeks also conveyed the names of the victors at the Olympic Games to various cities using homing pigeons. In the early 19th century, the Dutch government used the system in Java and Sumatra . And in 1849, Paul Julius Reuter started a pigeon service to fly stock prices between Aachen and Brussels ,
10504-486: Was of little practical value because it relied on the electrophonic effect requiring users to place the receiver in their mouths to "hear". The first commercial telephone services were set up by the Bell Telephone Company in 1878 and 1879 on both sides of the Atlantic in the cities of New Haven and London. In 1894, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi began developing a wireless communication using
10608-565: Was the National Directory Information Unit (NDIU). In December 2019 this agreement expired and ComReg extended the management of the NDD to all current providers, Eir did not declined to propose extending the agreement. A Dutch company PortingXS became the subsequent manager of the NDD as it was the only provider that flagged an interest. In 2001, Eircom sold its mobile subsidiary Eircell to Vodafone . The company
10712-409: Was transferred to a separate entity, Eircell 2000 plc which was then sold to Vodafone through a share swap. Eircom shareholders got Eircell share in a 1000/1 ratio. The conversion rate was then 0.9478 Vodafone shares for every 2 Eircell 2000 shares. This left the Eircom shareholder with shares in both Eircom and Vodafone. After the sale of Eircell, Eircom itself was believed to be undervalued and became
10816-448: Was understood that Eircom was the top bidder at €410 million. On 21 July, it was announced that Smart Telecom had also withdrawn, leaving Eircom as the sole bidder. Eircom announced the agreement to purchase it on 25 July 2005 at a cost of €420m. As of 31 December 2012, Meteor had over 1,086,000 customers and a market share of 20%, offering both GSM and 3G mobile telephony and broadband services. In May 2006, Eircom announced its sale to
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