THE MERGING of telecommunications regulator ComReg and the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) into a single body is inevitable, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.
Addressing a meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, ComReg commissioner Mike Byrne said the convergence of technology in the communications sector meant that a converged regulatory body was inevitable at some point. However, he said this was a matter for the Government, not ComReg, to decide upon.
Responding to questions relating to Eircom’s poor customer service, ComReg commissioner Alex Chisholm said mandatory standards had been introduced to address this.
In the past, some Eircom customers had to wait up to six months for a landline. Under the new standards, Eircom is obliged to install lines within two weeks. This target must be reached in 80 per cent of cases.
Fault repairs must be carried out within 48 hours in at least 80 per cent of cases.
When a committee member expressed scepticism as to whether the measures would improve Eircom’s customer service, ComReg chairman John Doherty said the standards were mandatory and would be enforced.
Mr Chisholm said ComReg helped resolve 3,000 customer complaints last year and its website, www.callcosts.ie, which compares mobile, landline and broadband packages, had 600,000 visits.
