The retailer Carphone Warehouse introduced a fixed-line telephone service yesterday in a bid to lure people away from Eircom.

The new service, which is branded Talk Talk, offers consumers free telephone calls to any of the firm's existing subscribers in Ireland and Britain.

Calls made to subscribers of other telephone companies will be charged at prices set below Eircom's standard rates to mobile phones and fixed telephone lines.

Carphone Warehouse pledged yesterday to give €1,000 to any customers that could prove that Eircom's standard phone rates worked out cheaper for them.

"I think people are paying far too much for telephone calls in Ireland and we recognise this as an opportunity to introduce a new cost-saving telephone service," said Mr Stephen Mackarel, chief executive of Carphone Warehouse Ireland.

Consumers do not have to pay a joining fee to use the service and there is no requirement to change telephone number. The product is only available to people who switch their line rental from Eircom, enabling them to receive a single bill.

Mr David McRedmond, Eircom's commercial director, said the introduction of the new product was further evidence of competition in the Irish telecoms market.

Carphone Warehouse, which operates in 10 countries across Europe, has 920,000 customers in Britain. Talk Talk is available in France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium.