THE JFK extravaganza, which quickly became a fiasco, showed that Telecom Eireann has come a long way in terms of marketing and speed of response.

The semi-state company has installed almost 100 card and payphones at Carlisle Pier in Dun Laoghaire so that sailors can call home as soon as they come ashore. Telecom apparently sold thousands of callcards to the crew at a special reduced rate, but the company also made money from the hordes of Irish people hanging around waiting for the ferry to the aircraft carrier.

And to think that a few years back having a phone installed required a wait of six to eight weeks.