Eir to pay penalty of €2.8m after ComReg investigation

Telecoms company eir is to pay a penalty of €2.8m, after regulator ComReg found the company had not complied with some of its obligations around making its infrastructure available for other providers to use.

Under official rules, eir must make it possible for other telecom businesses to use its infrastructure to deploy their own cables.

In August 2019, ComReg began an investigation into eir's compliance with the requirements to make the records documenting the location, physical characteristics and utilisation of the ducts, poles and chambers available to other operators and not discriminate against them.

That probe found non-compliance in 2021 and this was subsequently communicated to eir.

ComReg also issued High Court proceedings in 2022 to have the breach confirmed and to order eir to comply with the obligations.

It also requested that the court impose a fine on the company.

Yesterday, the two sides agreed a resolution to the issue and Eir agreed to pay a penalty of €2.8m, along with €200,000 of ComReg's costs.

The agreement saw eir acknowledge that it failed to provide full access to the documentation and failed to provide full access to it under the same conditions and of the same quality as it provides to itself.

Eir also acknowledged that its implementation of the remediation of the situation in November of 2021 fell short of full compliance and that it remained in breach after that.

"ComReg acknowledged that Eircom's implementation of the remaining remediation measures identified to it by ComReg on 24 March 2023 were addressed to ComReg's satisfaction, amounting to full remediation by Eircom of the incidents of non-compliance specified in the Notification of NonCompliance," a notice on the regulator's website said.

"ComReg continues to monitor compliance by all undertakings with their regulatory obligations relating to the supply of and access to electronic communications services, networks and associated facilities, and will continue to investigate and take all enforcement action it deems necessary in respect of any instances of non-compliance," it added.

Many other telecoms operators use eir's ducts and poles and other infrastructure on a wholesale basis in order to provide their own retail services to homes and businesses.

Eir said it acknowledges the conclusion of the longstanding compliance case.

"This case, initiated in 2019, addressed regulatory obligations, all of which have since been met," the company said.

"We welcome the resolution of this matter and reaffirm our commitment to regulatory compliance and industry cooperation for the benefit of all stakeholders," it added.