Vodafone launches flat-rate 3G access
14-06-2006
by Rudhraigh McGrath

Vodafone Ireland has announced the first flat-rate 3G internet service allowing Irish users to have 'unlimited' access to e-mail and the internet while out and about.

The service will be available from 1 July and will cost a flat rate of EUR49 per month including VAT. Vodafone also announced that it will officially launch its 3G broadband network, which will use High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology, later this year. This launch will mark the next phase of 3G technology, according to Vodafone, who said the service will allow customers to access the net at speeds up to 1.2Mbps.

Though the "unlimited" 3G data service that Vodafone unveiled on Wednesday is called "Vodafone Unlimited Data" users should note that the offer is subject to a "fair usage" policy in which downloads in excess of 5GB per month may be queried by Vodafone, a policy Vodafone says is standard amongst all broadband providers in Ireland.

At a briefing in Dublin on Wednesday Vodafone Ireland CEO Teresa Elder claimed that the new offer "is a milestone in our effort to increase broadband penetration in Ireland."

In order to research the possible effects of "unlimited" broadband access on the so-called "mobile working community" -- workers who spend at least 20 percent of their time away from their desk -- Vodafone commissioned a report from Irish market research organisation Amarach Consulting. This report claimed that 24 percent of people who work outside the office are already taking advantage of remote access technologies in their daily work and a further 19 percent would take advantage if they had access to such tools.

The report further claimed that the main positive benefit of increasing the amount of access workers have to e-mail and the internet will be in filling downtime lost to commuting, waiting for meetings to begin or other routine activities. Amarach CEO Gerard O'Neill said that Ireland can expect roughly "EUR11 billion of extra economic output as a result of mobile working."

"Amarach Consulting's research has also clearly shown that over 56 percent of employees are losing at least one hour per day downtime, with 26 percent losing between one and two hours per day," said Carolan Lennon, Marketing Director, Vodafone Ireland. "These hours are lost to travel, and waiting for meetings to begin, and other routine activities. Recouping this time would have major benefits not only to the companies and the overall economy, but to individuals who would have the opportunity to work in a flexible manner, enhancing their own work-life balance."