Chorus has said it will not take up 14 of the 15 fixed wireless licences which have been offered by ComReg. The firm said the licences were not commercially viable because of the populations they covered. But it is taking up one licence in Dublin.

Mr Phil Freedman, Chorus chief executive, said: "We have assessed the licences offered to us by ComReg collectively and on a case by case basis. The licensed areas offered do not, in their totality, represent a viable business model in terms of the areas or populations covered, particularly when the Chorus residential model is considered.

"Chorus has also looked at the licences on a case by case basis. Although we were offered 15 licences in the current round, following careful examination, Chorus has decided to accept the Channel B licence offered by ComReg for Dublin [Three Rock] only."

Mr Freedman said Chorus was not leaving the broadband market. "It is our intention to develop our cable modem service which is already rolled out in a number of areas such as Kilkenny, Clonmel and Thurles," he said. "We will revisit the case for the residential broadband wireless model in the light of developments in regulation, standards, costs and technology," he added.