Ireland ranks as 27th in terms of the number of broadband subscribers by country, according to stats released by the OECD (Organization For Economic Co-operation and Development). Mobile broadband is not included in these statistics, since the OECD is still in discussions with member countries to develop a common methodology for tracking mobile broadband subscribers. If there is an agreement, a new mobile broadband indicator could be available in 2009.

According to data released by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), the telecom regulatory authority in Ireland, there were 1,200,255 broadband subscribers in the country at the end of December 2008. This figure includes mobile broadband subscribers. The table below shows the number of broadband subscribers and growth rates by platform.

Broadband Subscribers and Growth Rates by Platform

Source: ComReg

DSL remains the largest broadband access platform, accounting for 54% of all broadband subscribers in Ireland. Although DSL remains the primary means of broadband access to the Internet, mobile broadband has been the largest contributor to new broadband growth in each quarter since Q1 2008. Mobile broadband (via HSDPA, HSPA and 3G) continues to show strong signs of growth, and increased by 15% in Q4 2008. In the twelve months leading up to December 2008 mobile broadband subscribers increased by 142%, compared to 25% for DSL. The following chart shows broadband subscriber market share by platform as of December 2008 in Ireland.

Major mobile operators like Telefonica O2 Ireland, Vodafone, Meteor, and Hutchison 3G Ireland ('3') have started to deploy HSDPA aggressively in Ireland. Telefonica O2 Ireland had more than 100,000 mobile broadband subscribers as of Q1 2009.  Hutchison 3G Ireland had almost 150,000 subscribers, while Vodafone had approximately 130,000 mobile broadband subscribers. 

Hutchison 3G Ireland has won a contract from the Irish government to develop a national broadband network covering rural areas of the country. The National Broadband Scheme will provide approximately 33% of the area of the country with broadband. Half of the area under the scheme will be covered by the end of 2009, and 100% of the country will have coverage by September 2010. In February 2009 Meteor launched mobile broadband in Dublin and Cork City. By the end 2009, Meteor plans to have deep indoor HSPA coverage for all cities and major urban areas. Over the next few years this will be aggressively rolled out on a national basis. Meteor is a wholly owned subsidiary of Irish telecoms network Eircom, having been purchased for €420 million in 2005.

The fixed wireless access (FWA) market represents 10% of all broadband subscriptions in Ireland. The main FWA operators include Clearwire, Irish Broadband (acquired by Imagine Communications) and Digiweb. There are approximately 120,000 FWA customers in Ireland with Irish Broadband having well over 50,000. FWA market has reached the stagnation point in Ireland; year-over-year growth was 0% for the period Q4 2007 – Q4 2008, one of the key reasons being that mobile broadband (HSDPA) is now widely available. HSDPA offers an acceptable basic broadband offering with reasonable download limits. It also enables broadband access without the need for a fixed telephone line, which is important to certain market sectors.

FWA operators have a tough challenge ahead, as initially they were one of the main alternative suppliers of broadband. Mobile broadband, cable and expanded DSL coverage are impacting the business of FWA players. There are four mobile operators with extensive networks now committed to HSPA, and FWA operators cannot match this level of resources.

At the moment majority of mobile broadband operators in Ireland use HSPA technology to provide Internet access. Later this year mobile operators are planning to upgrade from HSPA to HSPA+ before transitioning to LTE. It is expected that LTE will start emerging in Ireland in 2012 when the spectrum becomes available (it is currently being used by the free-to-air TV). The switchover from analog to digital terrestrial TV, the “Digital Dividend,” will free up an unprecedented amount of spectrum. Broadcast TV currently uses the 470-862 MHz band, but some of this spectrum will be released – most likely 790-862 MHz. ComReg has begun a public consultation to determine how the radio spectrum freed up by the move to digital television broadcasting should be used.

There are challenges for mobile WiMAX as well in Ireland. The lack of spectrum availability in the 2.5GHz band is a major concern. 2.5 GHz spectrum is allocated to MMDS on a virtually national basis, hence it is not available for WiMAX until the licenses expire in 2013. Even if the spectrum is freed up the challenge for mobile WiMAX it will be challenging for new entrants to take on the major mobile operators.

For more information you can contact the author at basharat@maravedis-bwa.com

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