The introduction of full telecoms liberalisation in Ireland on December 1 1998 is a radical move by the Irish government which is clearly intended to encourage as much competition as possible in the market. The expectation is that this will result in a wide range of competing services becoming available to both business and residential users. It is also expected that the quality of telecommunications services on offer to high-tech industry in Ireland will improve rapidly. The acceleration of the liberalisation programme poses a major challenge to the ODTR, which will be responsible for ensuring that the necessary regulatory measures are in put in place within the next few months. These measures will include rules designed to pre-empt the abuse of its dominant position by the incumbent operator as well as rules designed to facilitate the entry of new competitors.

Gerald FitzGerald
McCann FitzGerald
Dublin