The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) said in an information notice yesterday that it was not informed Vodafone had launched a fixed-line voice and broadband service through a wholesale deal with Eircom, until it read about it in the press.
In an information notice yesterday, the regulator said that Eircom is required to publish terms and conditions, including prices of its wholesale product, in its Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO).
In late May this year, Vodafone in Ireland announced at the same time as its parent company reported its annual results that it would be launching a Vodafone at Home fixed voice and broadband product. Earlier this year, it also acquired Perlico for €80m.
The Vodafone at Home service is provided under a wholesale package from Eircom.
ComReg said it was not informed of the details of the Eircom wholesale product sold to Vodafone in advance of the announcement, and an investigation was launched in June.
It said the investigation found that key underlying components that make up the wholesale product and fall within regulated markets are therefore subject to obligations of transparency.
Eircom, it said, has not updated its Reference Interconnect Offer with details of terms and conditions and prices for the white label product it has given Vodafone.
“Therefore, Eircom failed to publish the terms and conditions in the manner and to the standard required by its transparency obligations,” ComReg said.
By John Kennedy
