The European Commission said today that telecoms operators and regulators are not doing enough to cut prices and improve services in Europe's telecoms sector.
The Commission said consumers are benefiting from growth in the market, but further reforms are needed in EU telecoms rules. These reforms start this summer and will come into force in 2010.
In an EU report on the telecoms market Commissioner Viviane Reding said more competition, a more consistent and speedy application of remedies and regulators that are more independent are necessary.
The commissioner appealed directly to member states where there is 'a catastrophe' in broadband to find solutions, saying we can't have a knowledge based society if large parts of society don't have high speed internet access.
Viviane Reding also said there are now 478 million mobile phones in use in Europe, with penetration at 103%.
The EU report gives a detailed review on each country and it shows that the Irish electronic communications market saw competition intensify in the mobile sector in 2006, with 3G services already on offer.
It also showed that in October 2006, the mobile penetration rate in Ireland reached 110%, compared to 98% in October 2005.
It showed that broadband penetration is still below the EU-25 average, but has improved substantially, partly driven by the uptake of alternative platforms such as wireless local loop.
In October 2006, broadband penetration reached 10.3% (compared to around 5.3% in October 2005). This compares to the EU-25 average of 15.7%, the report found. However, Eircom says the real rate of broadband availability in Ireland is higher than 10.3%.
The EU report said that effective implementation of remedies to boost broadband coverage remains an issue, and while ComReg has taken a number of regulatory initiatives, the expected reforms of the Wireless Telegraphy Act would appear to be more than necessary.
'A faster increase in broadband penetration in Ireland appears to be held back by a lack of real progress in LLU penetration', the report said.
In response to the report, Eircom said it estimates that the up to date broadband penetration rate has grown an additional 4% to 14%, closing the gap between Ireland and other countries and the EU average.
It said broadband take up in Ireland has doubled in the past year, and there are other encouraging indicators.
'Since last autumn, almost 5,000 customers a week have signed up for broadband. The true impact of this growth won't been seen until next year's report', Eircom said.
In the fixed market, alternative operators have succeeded in acquiring a visible market share of fixed calls, it said, although eircom still holds 70% of the market.
