The first official telephone call over NTL's digital broadband network was made by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, yesterday signalling the arrival of a major competitor in the residential telecoms market.
Some 12,000 customers in Tallaght will be able to make telephone calls, access high speed Internet and enhanced television services by using NTL's bundled network technology from next month. These services will be extended to Galway and Waterford by the end of the year.
Mr Ian Jeffers, NTL's managing director, said the company would be competitive on price, and customers who used NTL services would save money.
Specific pricing details would become available over the next few weeks, he added.
NTL is currently investing £500,000 per day to upgrade its network which reflects the trend towards convergence in multimedia and telecommunications by offering Internet and TV services.
NTL is the latest competitor to enter the domestic telecommunications market and is likely to further increase competition on price and service provision. In a separate move yesterday, telecoms regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, welcomed 35 per cent price reductions made by Eircom for interconnect rates - the charge it levies on rival telecoms operators to carry traffic on its network. This reduction should enable other telecoms competitors such as Esat Telecom, Spirit and MCI Worldcom to offer customers cheaper prices.
