Ireland’s largest mobile operator Vodafone has revealed plans to launch a flat-rate 3G mobile internet service on its network for €49 a month. By the end of the year existing 3G services will be boosted to 1.2MB per second by HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) and Vodafone has confirmed that the flat rate will apply to this service.
The new rate was announced at a Chambers Ireland briefing on mobile working.
Vodafone’s 3G network currently serves 250,000 Vodafone customers and Vodafone Ireland chief executive Teresa Elder (pictured) said that the company is investing over €1bn in improving the network.
She said that later this year Dell and Lenovo will be bringing out a range of notebook computers which come with built-in 3G broadband Vodafone SIM cards and GPRS/3G broadband radios.
“I believe that this is very significant for Ireland’s economic development as it will unlock the potential for many people who wish to be able to work on the go without the constraints of a fixed line,” Elder said.
“Later this year we’ll up the ante further and will become the first to launch 3G broadband, or HSDPA, as well as laptops with built-in 3G broadband cards through our partners Dell and Lenovo.”
Vodafone also commissioned research from Amarach whose survey of 300 employees and 210 employers revealed that 24pc of Irish people that work outside the office are already taking advantage of remote access technologies.
Some 54pc of respondents to the Amarach survey felt that mobile working would free them from the office while 36pc agreed that it would make their job easier.
“Solutions such as Vodafone Business Email, BlackBerry from Vodafone and our hugely successful 3G Mobile Connect Card have proven our dedication to mobilising Ireland’s workers,” said Carolan Lennon, marketing director of Vodafone Ireland.
“Vodafone Unlimited Data is another example of our commitment to providing the most advanced mobility solutions to businesses and employees throughout Ireland. Our customers have demanded a simplified service that does not include any per megabyte charge. We have listened and responded with Vodafone Unlimited Data.”
By John Kennedy
