Sir, - Telecom Eireann's latest price cut announcement is nothing short of a cynical PR exercise.
Does it really believe that its captive market domestic users can't see that this is simply a response to growing competitive pressure on overseas calls? Like a slow, bumbling dinosaur, Telecom Eireann reacts too little, too late. Unfortunately, the announcement was gobbled up by the media, with certain newspapers publishing the press release almost verbatim, with no critical comment whatsoever.
There will be price cuts in the domestic telephone market only when competitive service providers appear. In Britain, for example, British Telecom has had to compete with Mercury for years, but cable television companies are now offering to carry telephone calls too. This is an obviously beneficial competitive development and has offered consumers there even more choice. Unfortunately, this can't happen in Ireland, as Cablelink (another monopoly) is owned by Telecom Eireann. How convenient for them. All we, the unfortunate consumers, can do is live in hope and remember that dinosaurs became extinct. - Yours, etc.,
Mountain View Cottages,
Dublin 6.