THE STATE’S telecoms regulator expects that consumers and businesses could save up to €100 million on their mobile phone bills under a new deal agreed with networks in the Republic.

The Commission for Communications Regulation (Comreg) told the Oireachtas Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs yesterday that it has agreed a new deal with network operators that will see them cut the rates that they charge each other by more than half.

Mobile networks charge each other “mobile termination rates” each time one carries a call from a rival network to one of its own customers.

One of the commissioners, John Doherty, told the committee yesterday that the current standard charge for this service is 12 cent.

He said that, after talks with Comreg, the companies involved have agreed to cut this to 5 cent. Mr Doherty estimated yesterday that this would cut €100 million from the cost of making mobile calls for consumers and businesses.

A number of committee members at yesterday’s meeting asked if Comreg knew if any bids were forthcoming for Eircom Holdings, the Australian-based company which is the biggest shareholder in Eircom, owner of the Republic’s fixed-line network and the biggest player in the telecoms market.

Mr Doherty and his colleagues, Mike Byrne and Alex Chisholm, said the sale was a matter for the company itself.

In response to suggestions that Eircom should be “renationalised”, the commissioners argued that the market was the best means of delivering better value services, new products and innovation to customers.