Telephone subscribers who want enhanced listings in telephone directories will face an almost fivefold increase in charges following Telecom Eireann's decision to divest the loss-making operation to the Golden Pages publishing company.
The basic listing will still be free of charge but those seeking to include more details will pay £36 per additional line. This compares to the £7.76 per line charged for an enhanced entry in the 1997/98 directories, or £16.68 for heavy type.
The Golden Pages company, which has produced the "yellow page" classified business directories for the past 30 years, has said that it will "commercialise" the area code directory service and make it profitable. The service is believed to have been costing Telecom Eireann £4 million annually. The new-look directories will allow for the entry of email and Web addresses, and mobile and weekend telephone numbers.
Telecom Eireann's stake in the Golden Pages company will be increased from 49 per cent to 63 per cent as part of the deal, in which the other shareholder - Dutch publishing company VNU - is reducing its holding from 51 per cent to 37 per cent. Eireann, obtained a controlling interest in the company, increasing its stake from 49 per cent to 63 per cent. The Dutch publishing company, VNU, reduced its stake from 51 per cent to 37 per cent.
No cash will change hands but, on top of gaining control of the area code directories, Golden Pages has also been re-awarded the licence to continue producing classified business directories. It now plans to launch its classified directory on CD-ROM and open a site on the Internet in the new year.
Mr Mark Ryder, the business development director of Golden Pages, said yesterday that area code directories had been a "dormant" product. "What we are trying to do is bring it up to an economical level," he said.