Mobile phone penetration stands at 94pc of the population, the latest quarterly report from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) shows.
The study, which covers the second quarter of 2005, also finds that each mobile phone subscriber sends a prolific 91 text messages per month adding up to a whopping four billion texts over the past 12 months.
Broadband numbers are also up, the report finds. In the three months up to the end of June, there has been a 15pc increase in broadband subscriptions; for the 12 months to the end of the June the increase was 170pc.
As of June 2005, there were 175,500 broadband subscribers in Ireland.
The proportion of broadband subscriptions delivered over access platforms other than DSL has increased in the past 12 months. In June 2004, DSL represented 88pc of all broadband subscriptions; a year later, it accounted for 80pc.
In the fixed-line telephone sector, there are now more than 374,000 carrier pre-select (CPS) lines. Consumers are also increasingly opting to take their line rental from one of a growing number of wholesale line-rental/single billing providers. The total for single bill customers now exceeds 146,000 lines or almost 40pc of all indirect access paths.
The report also shows that almost six out of 10 people with a pay TV service subscribe to digital TV services. Of all households with a television, 40pc have a digital television service.
By Brian Skelly
