Ireland's fourth mobile phone network, 3, yesterday announced the appointment of a managing director for its Irish operations.

The group, owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, named Robert Finnegan to run its Irish arm, which began operating at the end of July.

"Things are going well so far," said Bob Fuller, chief executive of 3 UK and Ireland.

He declined to give any details about the number of customers the company has signed up in its first four months, but said most of its new contracts were with former Vodafone and O2 customers. The company has about 10 million customers worldwide.

Mr Fuller said 3 sees Ireland as an important market. He believes the group has a significant advantage over its rivals, as its focus is on offering a 3G service in a market that is already saturated with voice and text-only offerings.

3G is a technology that transmits data at very high speed to mobile handsets, enabling consumers to download and access a range of video, music and multimedia.

Unlike Vodafone, the only other company currently offering 3G in the Republic, 3 does not charge extra for its 3G services.

The service is available to about 66 per cent of the Republic's population, a proportion that will increase to 70 per cent by the end of the year, according to Mr Fuller.

O2 plans to start offering 3G services at the end of this year.