Eircom pledged to advertise a discount scheme for "vulnerable telephone users" yesterday after it emerged that up to 60,000 people could be paying bigger phone bills than they should be.
The firm's chief executive, Dr Philip Nolan, also told the Oireachtas Communications Committee that Eircom offered good value to consumers and rejected allegations that its proposed increase in line rental costs is excessive.
Senior management at Eircom were invited to the committee to explain the reasons behind its third price increase in line rental charges over a 12 month period.
The firm plans to increase line rental charges for its 1.6 million customers to €24.18 per month from February 4th. This is about €10 higher than the average EU line rental which is just over €14.
Dr Nolan said the line rental increase was required to meet the cost of investing in Eircom's telephone access network, which runs into every home in the State.
He said Eircom's line rental prices were higher than other EU countries because of Ireland's low population density, limited urban population and extremely high population growth rates.
Higher line rental charges were also balanced by cuts in call charges. The average Eircom bill would fall to €47.99 excluding VAT next month, from an average of €50.30 in 1999, according to Eircom's statistics
Earlier, Mr John Doherty, the chairman of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), said between 20,000 and 60,000 people could be eligible for a low-user scheme operated by Eircom since last year.
This scheme was a key requirement sought by ComReg before it lifted a strict price cap on Eircom last year, which would have prevented it from subsequently increasing line rental prices.
Mr Doherty confirmed just 400 people had signed up for the scheme and said Eircom should have promoted it more than they did. Dr Nolan said the firm would begin an advertising campaign shortly.
Last night the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, said he would issue a policy direction to ComReg to introduce competition to the line rental market by March 31st. If this did not happen, he would direct ComReg to put a cap on Eircom's line rental prices.