Businesses not ruffled by Eircom increase


5 Aug 2008

Eircom customers’ phone bills are going to go up by an average of 3.8pc from 2 September, thanks to changes in its pricing system announced today.

The existing minimum fee charge of 6.65c including VAT (5.50c excluding VAT) will be replaced by a fixed-call set-up charge of 5.95c including VAT (4.92c excluding VAT). Duration charges will continue to be on a per-second basis.

Eircom notes the 3.8pc increase is below the current rate of inflation of 5pc. So far, it’s not upsetting the business community to any great degree.

“Telecoms is one of the more competitive marketplaces now. When you compare the increase with the 17pc and 20pc rises announced for electricity and gas, respectively, it’s not that significant,” Patricia Callan, director of the Small Firms Association told siliconrepublic.com. “I don’t think it will impact that much, especially as inflation is probably going to rise to 5.5pc because of the other increases. Most business people will have subscription packages that aren’t affected anyway.”

Line rental and subscription prices for Eircom’s Talktime packages that bundle line rental and selected call categories are unaffected. In addition, broadband prices are also being held at current prices.

By Sorcha Corcoran