Eircom has removed more than 1,000 payphones in just 15 months, prompting the Commission for Communications Regulation, chaired by Ms Etain Doyle, to propose new regulations to ensure that rural areas are served.

New figures published by the commission show that Eircom had 6,685 public payphones at the end of June this year, compared to 7,796 payphones in March 2001.

The report on universal service obligation for telecoms firms shows Eircom removed more than 250 public payphones in the six months to the end of June 2002, despite telling The Irish Times in July that its rationalisation process had ended.

An Eircom spokeswoman said yesterday it had stopped removing payphones at single sites from August 2001. Therefore anything that had been removed since was at a multiple site, she added.

She said Eircom would review the proposals by the commission before making any comment.

The report also says that further reductions in payphones in urban and rural areas is inevitable due to the prevalence of mobile phones in the Republic.

Some 77 per cent of the population own a mobile making some payphones uneconomic, according to the report.

It says Eircom embarked on its payphone rationalisation programme two years ago, which was designed to reduce the number of uneconomic phone kiosks, which mainly focused on multiple sites rather than single payphone sites.

Previously the commission has dealt with payphone provision dealing through a licensing condition requiring that the public in an area are notified of a proposal to remove a payphone. But the report proposes setting up a structure to monitor Eircom's rationalisation process and ensure that a balance is struck between economic and uneconomic payphone locations.

The commission proposes to set up a ratio or quota system for the number of payphones in each type of location. In theory, this would ensure that the social function of public payphones in remote locations is recognised by Eircom.

Under the proposed structure Eircom will have to submit an annual statement on payphone strategy to the commission.

Such statements would detail: total public payphone numbers by location; the number and location of payphones that have been adapted for use by persons with disabilities; the existing public payphone rationalisation strategy and considerations for the removal and installation of public payphones.

To ensure transparency, the commission also wants Eircom to publish this information on its website. The report forms the basis of a public consultation process that will be completed next year.