ESAT Digifone, which is to run the second mobile phone service, has signed a £400,000 contract with Hewlett Packard (HP) Ireland, executives said last night. The equipment will be installed in the run up to Digifone's launch, the exact date of which remains a secret. The company is to test its service with selected customers next month.

"HP hardware will be running the billing systems, the financial systems, the PCs and the file servers," said Mr Tony Stewart Lord, Esat Digifone's project manager. "We chose them because their products area good, they're reliable, and cost effective.

"Customer care and service will be the differentiating factor for Esat Digifone. That's why we're installing the latest technology to ensure the most accurate and detailed billing system for our customers," said Mr Barry's" Maloney, the firm's joint chief executive.

Hewlett Packard is a leading global manufacturer of computer and communications products. It has constructed a large printer cartridge making plant in Leixlip, and is expected to hire about 2,000 workers over the next three years. In 1995, its worldwide revenue reached $31.5 billion (£19.09 billion).

Esat Digifone was expected to start its mobile telephone service in the last quarter of this year. Last month, the company took out newspaper advertisements stating that it would not launch the operation until it was sure it would work perfectly.