DUBLIN, Ireland-Northern Ireland is a complex country with an intriguing cellular industry. As part of the United Kingdom, it is covered by the same mobile networks (BT Cellnet, Vodafone AirTouch plc and Orange plc) as the rest of the United Kingdom. Yet those three operators-soon to be four with the arrival of One 2 One next year-are competing for market share in a region of less than 1.5 million people where disputes have often taken a violent turn in the past.
Mobile services in Northern Ireland went live in December 1985 with Vodafone and Cellnet, as it was known then, rolling out their U.K. services, just months after Eircell launched in the neighboring Republic of Ireland. A modest target of 1-percent penetration within five years was set and exceeded.
Yet Northern Ireland still lags behind both its nearest neighbor and the rest of the United Kingdom when it comes to mobile-phone use. Penetration rates for the United Kingdom as a whole have risen from 14 percent in early 1998 to more than 25 percent today, with expectations of more than 50 percent by 2001.
Figures are at least as high in the Republic of Ireland. However, overall penetration in Northern Ireland is 17 percent, according to Orange.
It is tempting to wonder why so many operators have invested in Northern Ireland, especially when the Republic of Ireland currently has half as many networks serving roughly three times the population.
Eric Carson, general manager of Orange, suggested that market growth of around 150 percent inside the last 12 months is one factor.
U.K. roaming is another significant factor. It is clearly attractive for Northern Ireland customers to be able to use the same network while in other parts of the United Kingdom-particularly if the alternative is paying excessive roaming charges for calls that might cost only one pence per minute on conventional fixed-line networks.
Carson admitted that Northern Ireland is a conservative market, which is one reason his company appointed a general manager specific to the region, something deemed unnecessary in other parts of the United Kingdom.
He also rejects the notion that prepaid is the best way to rapidly increase market penetration, which has been the experience throughout much of Europe.
“Only 25 percent of our sales in Northern Ireland are prepaid,” he explained. “We believe that prepaid is expensive to run, and consumers will soon realize that. There are better packages available. You don’t have to use it a lot for prepaid to become expensive.”
Byrom Bramwell, head of Vodafone Northern Ireland, agreed that the last year has seen massive subscriber growth and claimed penetration could be as high as 20 percent. In common with Orange, Vodafone operates differently in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. Despite being part of the largest mobile communications company in the world, many of the company’s operational functions are run from Northern Ireland.
“There is recognition that a strong local focus with a proven track record is the best option,” said Bramwell, who has been involved with the business for more than a dozen years through Vodac (Ulster), which was partly and eventually completely acquired by Vodafone in 1998.
However, it has not been all smooth sailing for the operators. In common with many primarily rural areas, locating cellular base stations produced heated debate and even violent action with at least one site destroyed in an attempt to prevent the erection of a transmitter.
One network operator described the campaigns against masts as a “cottage industry,” but they have generated considerable emotion in several locations. The opposition has also resulted in some gaps in network coverage, although Orange’s Carson plays down the overall effect.
“That situation has calmed down,” he said. “While there are still some areas and families opposed to mobile masts who provide opposition (not only for us but for the other operators), we have completed 95 percent of our network build with only a handful of sites to complete. That activity has taken place within 18 months, so although the opposition gets a lot of media attention, its overall impact is negligible.”
Even if it can secure mast-sharing agreements and avoid the anti-mast campaigners, One 2 One still will have a tough job securing significant market share. While the company is committed to offering 90-percent geographical coverage by October, a spokeswoman admitted site-sharing will be a factor in achieving that level of coverage.
The company recently signed a $58.3 million contract with U.S.-based Castle Transmission International to design a network of transmission stations across Northern Ireland, which will involve establishing between 250 and 300 new base stations.
One 2 One Managing Director Tim Staples said the company would be able to put a high-quality network in place within 12 months.
