Comment: It is interesting to compare the development of the mobile market with that of the fixed market in Ireland and indeed Europe over the last number of decades. Compared to the fixed services, mobile services have been relatively lightly regulated since their inception some 20 years ago.

No special favoured support has been provided by the Government or the Regulator to promote the mobile industry. Indeed, the opposite is true.

Mobile companies have had to pay the Government significant licence fees for access to mobile spectrum, notably in relation to 3G.

Nevertheless, mobile operators made carefully calculated decisions based on commercial business cases to invest heavily in infrastructure and licences in a clear climate of low regulatory interference.

Operators also invested heavily in acquiring and educating customers in the use of this new technology in order to stimulate rapid market growth.

Today there are some 3.7 million mobile customers in the Irish market.

There are now more mobile customers than there are fixed line customers.

Irish mobile operators worked hard to create attractive tariff propositions to satisfy customers in the use of voice and text services.

To this extent Irish customers, as it is well recognised, are amongst the highest users of mobile services in Europe.

In addition, Irish consumers have a higher disposable income than most EU counterparts and so they enjoy, and are capable of consuming, significantly more mobile service.

Yes, Irish customers may spend more than their counterparts elsewhere, but this is because they choose to consume significantly more.Basic economics dictate that customers will not consume significant quantities of services if prices are inflated.

Rather the reverse is true; if prices are lower, they will consume more.

Irish customers, who consume significantly more voice minutes than German customers, enjoy much better value by paying rates that are at least 25 per cent cheaper than those charged to the German customers.

To ensure that Irish customers enjoy not only better value but excellent quality, Irish mobile operators have responded by investing cumulatively almost € 1 billion in infrastructure in the past four years.

Remember, this is an industry that has been subject to minimal regulation. Contrast that to the fixed market, which through excess and heavy-handed regulation has seen usage and investment collapse in the same timeframe.

ComReg is now proposing to significantly increase regulation in the Irish mobile market based on evidence that it purports to have found during its examination of the marketplace in 2004.

Close examination of ComReg's arguments reveals layer upon layer of supposition and is, in our view, both economically and legally flawed.

What ComReg is now proposing is the first of its kind and is unique in Europe.

The Irish marketplace is intensely competitive, with each operator battling fiercely to maintain and increase market share.

This is clearly evidenced by the fact that Meteor has made significant market inroads over the last quarter, taking 40 per cent of the net additions in the market, and, when taken over the previous two quarters, has achieved first place in terms of net market gains. The imminent entry of Hutchison 3G, which has been very aggressive elsewhere, is likely to further intensify competition.

This is evidence of an already increasingly competitive market, which ComReg fails to, or, more worryingly, chooses not to recognise.

The agenda of increased regulation is insidious and potentially extremely damaging for investment, innovation and job creation.

Will Ireland remain at the leading edge of mobile technology, such as 3G, if investment is squeezed out by the imposition of arbitrage players?

Will we look back and rue the day when we unnecessarily regulated a successfully investing mobile industry and put mobile infrastructure in the basket case category along with broadband, health facilities and transport infrastructure?

Vodafone will not stand idly by and let that happen either to our stakeholders, our customers, or our industry.

Ireland's economy has the opportunity to leverage its mobile success story, don't let's shoot ourselves in the foot yet again.

Gerry Fahy is director of strategy at Vodafone Ireland.