Vodafone Ireland will extend its new generation mobile phone service to existing customers using prepaid mobile phone handsets later this week for the first time.
The State's biggest mobile company will launch the third generation (3G) service for its 1.3 million prepaid customers ahead of the expected entry of a new mobile competitor Hutchison 3G Ireland over the summer.
Hutchinson, which will be branded "3", began advertising in the Republic last week and is expected to provide tough competition in the Irish market.
Vodafone, which has been offering 3G services to contract customers since last year, will offer existing prepaid mobile users a €100 discount on a 3G-compatible handset. These handsets are required to enable consumers to use 3G services such as watching video clips and making video calls.
The new 3G handsets will retail from €149 to €499 and will offer consumers high-speed access to the web on mobiles.
The prepaid 3G service is the first in the Republic and is being launched before the Government decides whether it should set up a national register of handsets.
The register was proposed by the previous minister for communications, Dermot Ahern, as a way to protect children from pornography and offensive material accessible on the internet.
The Government and industry have been in discussion on the topic for months, but a final decision on the register has not been taken.
Currently, consumers of any age can buy prepaid mobiles that prevent their calls, picture messages and internet usage from being traced by the mobile companies.
This has raised concern about the misuse of powerful 3G handsets, which offer access to the internet and the ability to send photos and picture messages.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Communications, Noel Dempsey, said last night that discussions with the industry in relation to the register and other developments in the sector were ongoing.
She said it was intended that an enabling provision would be inserted into new legislation to allow the Minister to introduce a registration process for all subscribers to prepaid mobile services in the absence of a robust alternative provided by the mobile phone industry.
It is understood the mobile industry is lobbying strongly against the registration process as it could hurt sales. It is proposing alternative ways to protect minors from unsuitable material such as filtering software for mobiles and better education.
Vodafone is currently the only provider offering a 3G service to consumers. But the pan-European operator "3" is expected to launch its own services shortly. It already provides 3G services to consumers in a range of countries, including Britain and Italy.
