6. Mobile

Back to contents of State of the Net issue 5

Mobile penetration. Source: ComReg, Irish Communicatios Market:Key Data Report-March 2007

The number of mobile subscribers reached 111% at the end of 2006, with no sign of demand tapering off. The staggering increase – from 102% the previous year – is due in part to the fact that many consumers have more than one active SIM card. 3G subscribers are estimated by ComReg to be around 5% of the market.

ComReg acknowledges that the total figures for the final quarter of the year are likely to include some element of duplication. The final quarter of the year is the strongest for sales of new mobile handsets. The quarter’s numbers include an element of double counting, as some subscribers’ new and old SIM cards are likely to be counted twice.

However, a five-year analysis of figures shows that there tends not to be a dip in subscription levels in the first quarter of a new year. Ireland’s performance is still trailing some of our EU neighbours. The latest comparable EU study by Eurostat shows Luxembourg as the mobile leader, with a subscription level of more than 140%.

Back to contents of State of the Net issue 5