3 Ireland fined over subscribers

MOBILE PHONE operator 3 Ireland has paid a fine of €1,500 to ComReg relating to the overstatement of its quarterly subscriber numbers since 2006.

3, which is owned by listed multinational Hutchison Whampoa, has also agreed to have its Irish subscriber data independently verified for the next 12 months.

In August, Hutchison 3G Ireland Ltd, which trades here as 3, informed ComReg that it had incorrectly stated the number of active pre-pay subscribers since 2006 in its quarterly submissions to the regulator.

ComReg investigated the matter and fined the mobile operator €1,500. 3 has also agreed to submit corrected data within 21 days and has appointed independent auditors to make sure its statistics comply with the rules.

It is understood that 3 was keen to draw a line under the matter. The company is operating the National Broadband Scheme for the State and recently agreed a deal with the FAI to sponsor the Irish soccer team.

3 said: “This error was identified by 3 and ComReg was subsequently notified. The error does not affect Hutchison Whampoa’s reports of 3 Ireland’s financial performance and customer numbers.

ComReg now expects to publish corrected market data relating to the second quarter of this year in October.

Hutchison Whampoa’s latest results showed that 3 has about 310,000 active customers in Ireland.