85-602: The RTÉ Guide is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd , a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The magazine offers detailed programme listings for RTÉ channels, as well as Virgin Media One , TG4 , Virgin Media Two , BBC One , BBC Two , UTV , and Channel 4 , as well as less detailed listings for variations of BBC Wales , ITV Wales , S4C and
170-456: 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
255-530: A "luxury service". Through this O'Broin was able to get funding for the research he had asked for. The public service broadcaster, Telefís Éireann , opened in 1961, followed by an additional channel RTÉ2 in November 1978. TG4 launched on 31 October 1996 as a free-to-air public service broadcaster that targets Irish language viewers. The earliest colour broadcasts in Ireland took place in 1968. However,
340-827: 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
425-622: A Freesat receiver. Some retailers in Ireland sell actual Freesat setboxes. Both Freesat and Sat4free are superior to generic satellite receivers for the reception of UK television, only old stock of Sat4Free is now available and new purchases should be "Freesat HD" even if the TV set is not HDTV. Imported " Grey market " (as the contract the operator has doesn't permit direct sales outside the intended Geographic area) satellite receivers are sometimes used to watch both FTA and subscription channels from visitors home countries (e.g., Cyfrowy Polsat ) Following
510-704: 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,
595-557: 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
680-699: A few years and only RTÉ programme listings were carried. From 8 January 1977, the RTÉ Guide switched from tabloid format to a compact magazine size and also changed from monochrome into colour . After United Kingdom listings magazines such as Radio Times and TV Times were deregulated from 1 March 1991, the magazine began carrying BBC , UTV / HTV Wales and Channel 4 / S4C listings from 13 April of that year, as well as three more services include Teilifís na Gaeilge (31 October 1996), Channel 5 (30 March 1997) and TV3 (20 September 1998) were also added. A special Christmas double issue of RTÉ Guide
765-491: A full colour service was only introduced in 1973, with The Late Late Show remaining in monochrome until 1976. On 20 September 1998, TV3 launched as the first independent commercial broadcaster in Ireland. In the 2000s television in Ireland expanded with the launch of Eir Sport 1 , Bubble Hits (now defunct) and 3e (originally C6 on Cable, later added to Sky), which are available through PayTV cable and satellite services. TV3 purchased C6 and rebranded it 3e. Only with
850-436: 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
935-476: A number of satellite and cable channels. RTÉ Radio programme listings are also published. Lifestyle and celebrity articles are also included in the magazine. The RTÉ Guide began publication on 1 December 1961 as the RTV Guide and changed its name to the current name on 8 July 1966. Initially, listings were carried for Radio Luxembourg , AFN and BBC Northern Ireland but these were later dropped after
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#17327795315271020-511: 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
1105-422: A pan-European satellite service was launched through SES . The service provided viewers with pan-European channels which targeted the entire continent. On 5 February 1989, when Sky Television launched, British Satellite Broadcasting , which was also available in Ireland, launched in 1990 and the two merged to form British Sky Broadcasting in 1990. For most of the 1990s however, Sky's DBS customer base in Ireland
1190-480: 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
1275-610: 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 ,
1360-466: A television set to receive broadcasts from the BBC . The Department of Finance at this time were worried about the cost of setting up a new television service and dismissed the possibility on several occasions during the 1950s. By March 1951 O'Broin would press for the inevitable establishment of an Irish television service in the state. In a memorandum to government, the department set out four possibilities for
1445-410: A timely, reasonable, non-discriminatory and transparent manner to the network to provide their own services and electronic programme guide from up to 20 channels maximum space. The licence would be for ten years and not automatically renewed. Those services are encrypted by the service provider to the subscriber. Contributors to the consultation 08/44 were given time to reflect on the terms suggested for
1530-594: 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
1615-485: 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
1700-569: Is Sky Ireland , which broadcasts digital satellite television services. Virgin Media Ireland , Vodafone TV and Eir among others, provide similar digital television services to Irish viewers. Television was first received in Ireland in 1949, following the opening of high-power BBC transmitters at Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham, England and later Holme Moss in West Yorkshire, England, giving marginal reception along parts of
1785-524: Is known as Saorview and is the primary source of broadcast television since analogue transmissions ended on 24 October 2012. Digital satellite (from Sky Ireland , Saorsat and other European satellite service providers are available) and digital cable (from Virgin Media Ireland ) are also widely used. While many people receive their television via Saorview , which is broadcast by 2RN , more than half subscribe to multichannel television networks. The biggest single multichannel television network in Ireland
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#17327795315271870-621: Is licensed to operate all over Munster. Operating at 11.7 GHz to 12.5 GHz ( MVDDS ) it delivered approximately 75 digital television channels and video on demand services from "Sky By Wire". Digital satellite is the only form of subscriber satellite transmission available in the country and is provided by Sky (and Sky+ HD ). The Freesat a UK service is also available in the country, as are FTA satellite channels from several other European countries. One company provides digital television via IPTV; Magnet Entertainment . In rural areas where neither cable or direct terrestrial overspill
1955-433: 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
2040-547: Is published every year to cover the Christmas and New Year period. In April 2018, the design of the RTÉ Guide was changed for the first time in a number of years. On 19 May 2019, it was reported that RTÉ was considering selling the RTÉ Guide . On 16 June 2019, it was reported that the Sunday Business Post owner, Enda O’Coineen, might acquire the RTÉ Guide . However by 5 December 2019, RTÉ had abandoned
2125-469: 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
2210-569: The Clermont Carn transmitter in the Cooley Mountains, County Louth with some signal bleed into Northern Ireland. A contract to run a nationwide system, with six multiplexes from main sites, and four from relay sites was awarded in 2001 to ITS Digital Limited, led by former RTÉ executive Peter Branagan and trading as "It's TV", who intended to launch a pay TV and broadband service. ITS wanted to offer broadband internet access using
2295-519: The DVB-RCT standard (which while high bandwidth at up to 30 Mbit/s, is not fast enough with 20,000 people on one mast). They had no broadband licence and no viable business plan without selling broadband, and due to lack of funding withdrew its application in October 2002. The government also planned to privatise RTÉ's transmission network at this time but this too failed in October 2002 following
2380-834: The Houses of the Oireachtas Channel and the Irish Film Channel, subject to finance from the government for the last two. The then Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte aspired to have a complete DTT service rolled out by 31 December 2011. In Ireland, the Commission for Communications Regulation regulates radio wave spectrum licensing, and since 1 October 2009 the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland regulates both public service broadcasters such as RTÉ, TG4 and commercial broadcasters. DVB-T
2465-471: 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
2550-610: 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
2635-540: 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
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2720-468: 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
2805-525: 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
2890-714: 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
2975-520: 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
3060-567: The Mobile Telegraphy Licence was seen as the best use of spectrum, given the nature of the spectrum of 8 MHz of UHF band in between 470 and 750 MHz in the five main urban areas due to the limited spectrum arising from DTT introduction and use of 4 multiplexes as the spectrum priority prior to analogue switchover (ASO). ComReg proposed launch of the wholesale mobile TV network following licence award be rolled out within 24 months before penalty or licence withdrawal from
3145-534: The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, some of the most popular include: Free to access: Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland DVB-H Virgin Media Ireland provided a wireless cable service over an all digital MMDS network reaching over 80% of the country. This network operated at 2.5 GHz to 2.7 GHz until the 18 April 2016. The now defunct SCTV Digital provided an advanced digital television service to Cork City and parts of County Cork. It
3230-526: The United Kingdom. Following a broad range of technical work, the two governments agreed an effective way to provide for the continuing provision of TG4 by building a new, low power TV multiplex in Northern Ireland. In addition to carrying TG4, this multiplex, which is part of the UK DTT system, also carries RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2. This increased the coverage of these channels in Northern Ireland, to 90% of
3315-563: 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
3400-548: The brand names Chorus NTL and UPC Ireland, is by far the largest cable operator, almost all of the state's cable TV operators and formerly all of the state's MMDS licences. Virgin Media offers digital cable television services in cities and towns throughout the country (with the exception of Cork, where the network is digital-only). It offered MMDS services in rural areas until the MDS licences were withdrawn in 2016. Other than Virgin Media,
3485-524: 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
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3570-528: The comparative beauty contest before 11 September 2009 and following that feedback and ComReg's further reflection on that, the comparative contest guidelines were issued and an application date set by the end of the year. The winner of that contest would have two years to build the network and agree terms with Other Mobile TV Service Providers. The Broadcasting Act 2009 was also referred to in Comreg Publication 09/64. By April 2010, following on from
3655-422: The digital switchover. While initial reports suggested that BBC services would equally be made available free-to-air in the Republic of Ireland at the same time, this was not to be the case. Instead BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC Two Northern Ireland were to be made available on a paid-for basis. In practice all BBC satellite channels can be received freely in the Republic of Ireland, due to overspill from
3740-400: The east coast. The first transmissions on the island of Ireland began with the launch of BBC in Northern Ireland ( BBC Northern Ireland ) when it began broadcasting television programmes in 1953, followed in 1959 by the launch of Ulster Television (now known as UTV ). Throughout the 1950s the governments of Ireland were worried about the influences of British television and the popularity of
3825-620: The event of an emergency or catastrophic failure of the DTT system. Approval for the revised National DTT plan and the new Saorsat satellite service was announced by the Minister for Communications at the end of July 2010. The Saorsat satellite service has been available publicly since 3 May 2012 as tests had commenced at the end of May 2011. With over one quarter of the population viewing programming on streaming platforms, many public service broadcasters and international streaming services serve
3910-605: The failure of the commercial DTT process in May 2010 RTÉ submitted a revised DTT plan including an FTA satellite option to the Dept of Communications in mid-June 2010 for approval. RTÉ publicly announced at an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications discussion in mid-July 2010 that a free-to-air satellite service, called Saorsat , would be offered to complement the terrestrial DTT service. Saorsat will enable Irish public service channels to be made available free to air and unencrypted, for
3995-468: The first time, as a means of covering the last 2% of the population who will be unable to receive the Saorview terrestrial service. RTÉ said the combined offering was designed to be the most cost-effective solution for viewers and broadcasters; to offer for the first time 100% coverage of free-to-air public service television services in Ireland, and to provide full national backup coverage on satellite in
4080-533: The first time. While Sky is the biggest satellite service in Ireland, it is by no means the only satellite broadcast available. Most free to air broadcasts available in Europe are available in Ireland via the right receiver ( set top box ) and a dish pointed at the correct satellite. In 2008, Sat4free , an adapted version of the UK Freesat equipment, began selling in Ireland. It is a fixed NI postcode version of
4165-758: 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
4250-537: 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
4335-556: 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
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#17327795315274420-526: 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
4505-790: 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
4590-432: The launch of Saorview (FTA DTT) was 3e available free-to-air. Ireland commenced its switch over to its free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT) in October 2010. This provided viewers with greater viewing opportunities with an increase in public service channels, i.e. of commercial services with the possibility of more public service channels from existing public service broadcaster and possibly two new channels,
4675-772: The licence in the fourth quarter of the year of 2010 and announce the licence results by the end of 2010. It weighed elements of business plans when it began the comparative process in Q4 2010. Offer of licence would have been 2011 but this was then cancelled by ComReg. International frequency co-ordination would also be ongoing during the period primarily with the UK. Comments to ComReg's mobile television licence proposal were taken until 30 April 2010. By November 2010, only two responders responded to ComReg's Television licence proposals consultation. These were RTÉNL and Vodafone Ireland. Points regarding wholesale access commitments considered critical for
4760-592: The medium. By the end of the 1950s, 60% of the population could receive the UK's BBC TV and ITV from spillover from Northern Ireland, Wales and the west of England. Throughout the 1950s the Irish government discussed the provision of an Irish television service; this was headed up by Leon O'Broin, the secretary of the Department of Post and Telegraphs. The Department of Post and Telegraphs had responsibility for Radio Éireann, Ireland's radio service. In 1950 O'Broin established his own committee on Irish television and bought
4845-476: 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
4930-466: 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
5015-599: The multiplex which is licensed under the UK's Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 by Ofcom at the request of the UK government. In addition, the licensee has put out to competitive tender all the elements of the multiplex operation which are contestable and the multiplex is operated on an open book basis. Mobile Terrestrial Television is TV on mobile phone handsets, which does not have contention problems compared to 3G networks. The Commission for Communications Regulation issued its response to Consultation 08/44 about interest in multi-city mobile TV licenses that could cover up to 40% of
5100-572: The only other operators providing digital cable systems are Crossan CableComm which operates in Longford, Smyths Cablevision, which operates in Cavan, and Casey Cablevision which operates in Dungarvan , County Waterford . Direct broadcast satellite service has been available since the late 1980s with the arrival of free-to-air satellite Astra and subscription service Sky Television . In 1988
5185-538: The ownership and control of a new service: The Department of Finance was incensed with this and asked the government to tell O'Broin to resubmit the proposals through the Department of Finance according to the formal procedures of the Civil Service. John A. Costello , the Taoiseach , did so and returned the memo to the Department of Post and Telegraphs. The Minister for Finance refused to look at TV, calling it
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#17327795315275270-444: The population in Northern Ireland to receive their services on a free-to-air basis, either through overspill as before or via the new multiplex. The former analogue signals were switched off on a co-ordinated basis in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland on 24 October 2012. Foreseen as part of the agreement between both governments was the establishment of a joint venture (as a not-for-profit company) between RTÉ and TG4 to run
5355-535: The population that would lead to the Award of available UHF spectrum in the urban areas of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. That response to consultation was issued on Tuesday 28 July 2009. Having provided options to stakeholders in terms of 2 options outlined in Consultation 08/44 of Mobile Telegraphy Licence or a technology neutral Wireless Telegraphy Licence, and minded by the 7 responses it received,
5440-476: The proposed sale. The Audit Bureau of Circulations circulation figures for the RTÉ Guide were: Figures subsequent to 2018 are not available because the RTÉ Guide is no longer registered with the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Television in the Republic of Ireland Television in the Republic of Ireland is available through a variety of platforms. The digital terrestrial television service
5525-604: 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
5610-560: The response to its consultation at end of 2009 the communications regulator ComReg issued an Information Notice on the future award of a mobile television license, ComReg 10/26 Mobile TV Wireless Telegraphy Licence Award on Tuesday, 30 March 2010. The Information Notice provided in ComReg's plans to issue one 8 MHz frequency channel in the UHF band in the areas of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford and invited candidates to tender for
5695-479: 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
5780-543: 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
5865-403: The successful provision of wholesale Mobile TV service and the provision of Mobile TV services for the benefits of consumers more generally were discussed. The two responders addressed points regarding automatic additional spectrum and ComReg outlined that it was minded to consider later award of mobile TV license when a national network for same would be possible of for other uses. The main concern
5950-448: 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
6035-583: The transition to DTT . There are few (if any) such systems still operating in Ireland. Eir (telecommunications) 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
6120-488: The wider public aware of the needs of aging and disabled viewers; they also launched a website. Promotion for DTT roll-out began on 17 March 2011. On 1 February 2010 Ireland's then-Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan signed an agreement with the UK's Ben Bradshaw . This agreement was designed to ensure viewers within Northern Ireland could watch RTÉ One , RTÉ2 and TG4 on a free-to-air basis after
6205-533: The winner of the contest. The contest was done by comparative beauty contest instead of auction, given the nature of Mobile TV as a newish area and the risks in terms of investment inherenet in it. Given the limited spectrum a wholesale model as noted by the EU Commission reference 2 in such situation is chosen. This results in third parties having access through agreements with the wholesale mobile network operator as Other Mobile TV Service Providers (OMTSPs) in
6290-543: The withdrawal of ITS Digital Limited DTT licence application and a number of other factors. TV Access , a coalition of organisations that promote issues surrounding individuals with disabilities and senior citizens, began a campaign to highlight the switchover from analogue to digital television (DTT) broadcast services in its contribution to the Oireachtas Communications Committee heard on Wednesday, 1 April 2009. TV Access aimed to make
6375-417: 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
6460-432: Was available, UHF television programme retransmission systems or deflectors picked up the UK terrestrial channels (either from Northern Ireland or Wales), and retransmitted them on local UHF signals along with other channels. These operators faced legal action in the late 1990s from MMDS operators, as they did not pay royalties to the relevant broadcasters, and were not licensed. When the deflectors were shut down, there
6545-659: Was dwarfed by the large numbers receiving its channels via cable. Sky Digital, Ireland's first digital television service, launched in October 1998. However, in the absence of any subsidy for the Sky Digibox in Ireland – viewers in the UK could avail of both a Sky subsidy and one from British Interactive Broadcasting – the cost to initially acquire Sky Digital equipment was very expensive ( IEP 450) and subscriber numbers did not rise until both these subsidies were introduced into Ireland in 2000. In 2001, UK and Irish terrestrial channels became available to Irish Sky customers for
6630-624: 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
6715-476: Was repeatedly tested from 2RN 's Three Rock Mountain transmitter, with relatively long tests in 1998 and 2001, and shorter tests in 2004, with a single multiplex carrying the four Irish analogue terrestrial channels, and Tara Television while it was in existence, on both UHF (channel 26) and VHF (channel D). These were under temporary licences for testing, which are regularly awarded. RTÉast Networks also broadcast test DVB-T with analogue TV and radio channels from
6800-624: Was such an outcry in those areas that an independent election candidate in County Donegal , Tom Gildea , was elected as a TD on a platform of supporting legalisation, which occurred in 1999. Deflectors were first licensed in 1999 by the then spectrum regulator, the ODTR . The Wireless Telegraphy (UHF Television Programme Retransmission) Regulations, 2009 were the last for deflectors, as all deflector licences expired in December 2012 due to
6885-567: 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
6970-597: Was the most common system for distributing multi-channel television in Ireland. With more than 40 years of history and extensive networks of both wired and "wireless" cable , Ireland is amongst the most cabled countries in Europe. Forty percent of Irish homes received cable television in September 2006. The figure dropped slightly in the early years of the 21st century due to the increased popularity of satellite reception, notably Sky , but has stabilised recently. In Ireland, Virgin Media Ireland , which formerly traded under
7055-443: Was to whether there is demand for broadcast mobile TV, given experiences elsewhere or whether the award be made post ASO when international spectrum co-ordination is clearer. ComReg welcomed views regarding these issues from interested parties by no later than 5.00 p.m. on 9 December 2010. It will make its decision going forward on the licence proposal following consideration of responses to this. Prior to Sky Digital, cable television
7140-409: 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
7225-450: 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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