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Mark Lennihan/AP/Press Association Images
Mobiles
Pay-as-you-go mobile charges are 20 per cent above OECD average
But contract plans in Ireland are cheaper than in many other countries.
PAY-AS-YOU-GO mobile phone charges are significantly higher in Ireland than in many other OECD countries, a new report shows.
The cost of a sample ‘basket’ of calls and texts here is 21.8 per cent higher than the average of 21 OECD countries, according to figures from the telecommunications regulator ComReg.
Ireland was the sixth most expensive country, with a monthly usage of 40 calls and 400 texts costing around €18.
However, monthly contract plans are cheaper than average for the OECD nations. For a ‘medium user’ requiring a notional 100 calls and 400 messages per month, the cost is 25.5 per cent below average – and only just over one-third of the cost in the most expensive country, the Czech Republic.
Costs for light and heavy users are also below the norm.
The cheapest country surveyed for monthly plans was Austria, where even heavy users can get a contract for less than €10 a month.
Denmark was the cheapest country for pre-paid calls, with the Czech Republic again the most expensive. The same basket of calls and texts cost more than six times as much in the Czech Republic as in Denmark.
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