Mobile phone firm O2 today denied it was ripping off its Irish customers telling an Oireachtas committee the Irish market was highly competitive and good value for money.
Chief Executive of O2 Ireland, Ms Danuta Gray, told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources: "We may talk more but we don't pay more — fact.
"The average Irish mobile user spends over 80 minutes longer on the phone each month compared to their UK or German counterparts, yet the actual rate per unit of a call is lower in Ireland. O2 has been very open on this and to date, we are the first operator in this market to issue minutes of usage information."
"Seventy per cent of our customers are pre-paid and enjoy the third lowest charges in Europe," she added.
Representative of the three main mobile phone operators in the State attended the committee today to defend their call charges.
Their appearance follows that of Ms Etain Doyle, chairwoman of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), who told the group that Irish mobile phone prices are among the highest in the world.
The largest companies - Vodafone and O2 - between them have 96 per cent of the market. Last year Vodafone and O2 reported combined pre-tax profits of almost €300 million and revenue exceeding €1.5 billion. This contrasts with loss-making at many of their sister firms in other European States.