Thinking of changing telephone company?

The information below is intended to assist you if you are considering changing your home phone provider.

Do I have a choice of service provider for my telephone services?

Yes. Competition in the Irish telecoms market means there is a variety of telephone service providers to choose from. Prices do vary across service providers so it is wise to shop around.

Some operators can offer you packages covering both line rental and calls (Single Billing), others can offer you the facility to maintain your line rental with one operator while having your calls with them (Carrier Pre-Selection). Some phone companies' have services that also allow you to avail of discounts for certain types of calls - eg international, long distance or local calls - on a call by call basis (Carrier Select). Click here for information about service providers and the packages they offer.

Why should I consider changing my telecoms company?

There are a variety of service providers in the market and an alternative supplier may offer better value services that suit your particular telecommunications needs. Prices for line rental and calls can vary amongst service providers.

What questions should I ask before I change ?

You should review a few of your most recent telephone bills and establish your calling pattern (i.e. what type of calls you frequently make and at what time of day) and then shop around and ask the different companies about their call charges.

The following questions will also assist you in making your decision.

You should ask each operator to provide you with a printed price list in order to check and compare tariffs
Is there a minimum charge or a set up charge for each call you make?
How does the phone company charge for calls - per second or per minute?
Are there any additional charges such as connection fees?
What are their day, evening and weekend times?
How long is the change over likely to take ?
Do you need to sign up for a set period of time?
Do you have to spend a minimum amount per month?
Are there any special discount schemes?
What penalties will be applied if you decide to opt-out of your contract obligations early?
If you have a personal or home monitored alarm service, you should verify with your new operator that this service will continue to operate

It is important to note that once you have switched your telephone provider your previous supplier cannot contact you in relation to your voice calls for a period of three months.

I have made my mind up to switch operators, what do I do now?

Switching is easy. If you are moving from eircom for the first time you will require your EAN (eircom account) or if you are with another operator will require your UAN (Universal Account Number). Both the EAN or UAN are displayed on the top of your phone bill. An operator must display these.

Following this, you just have to sign an authorisation form or confirm your consent over the telephone (a process known as Third Party Verification). Third party verification is an industry agreed process that allows you the flexibility to sign up with other companies for Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) over the phone. Your new service provider will take it from there. There will be no disruption to your telephone service and no need for anybody to visit your house. You can keep your telephone number and your directory listing. It is important to note that you may need to contact the losing operator in advance of changing service provider to check to see if any cancellation notice or cancellation period/penalties apply.

Click here for further information on changing telephone company (PDF Download, 72Kb).