Electronic communications and e-commerce
Ireland's approach to the regulation of electronic communications and e-commerce activities is light,
flexible and supportive of business.
The Irish government has promoted Ireland as a global digital hub and has strongly encouraged
the development of e-commerce in Ireland. The electronic communications market has been
fully liberalised for a number of years and the sector is now regulated by the Commission for
Communications Regulation ('ComReg').
In July 2000, the Irish government passed into law, the Electronic Commerce Act which sets out
a formal legal framework for conducting business electronically. Considered more business-friendly
than the equivalent legislation in the UK, the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 provides for:
- legal recognition of electronic signatures;
- use of electronic contracts in commercial and non-commercial dealings;
- prohibition of fraudulent use of electronic signatures;
- registration of domain names; and
- accreditation and supervision of service providers.
The Electronic Commerce Act 2000 was supplemented by the Electronic Commerce Regulations
2003 which set out a number of obligations for e-commerce providers to enhance the confidence of
e-commerce end users.
More than any other European country, Ireland has acted as a magnet for high-tech companies for
more than a decade. The Irish electronic communications industry has been central in enabling this
due to the industry's liberalisation and the need for expanded electronic communications services
(wireless and otherwise) to deal with continuing Irish economic growth.
ComReg, has placed the maintenance and facilitation of competition at the core of its agenda. To
start a telecommunications business, all one needs to do is to notify ComReg. There is freedom
of entry. ComReg also provides the framework for the introduction of new services such as 3G. In
2002, 3G licences were granted to three mobile operators in Ireland (Hutchison 3G (Ireland) Limited,
02 Communications Limited and Vodafone (Ireland) Limited). A fourth 3G licence was subsequently
issued to Meteor Mobile Communications Ltd.
Ireland also increasingly provides for wireless broadband access and continues to allocate spectrum
for the delivery of value-added services. The delivery of broadband services to the customer can
be achieved over many different transmission platforms, such as copper wire, cable, fibre or radio.
Numerous Fixed Wireless Access ('FWA') licenses have been issued by ComReg to facilitate the roll
out of wireless broadband.
ComReg also expects to liberalise spectrum in the valuable 800 MHz and 900MHz bands in the near future to make it available for advanced mobile broadband services. This will significantly enhance the range and quality of mobile broadband services available to Irish businesses.
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