[30.05.2007 first posted on silicon republic]
Ireland’s incumbent operator Eircom is to lay off between 300 and 400 workers form its fixed-line division at the end of this year.

Eircom, which employs over 7,000 people, is also planning to apply for a price increase for its monthly fixed-line rental charge.
Eircom reported revenues of €1.95bn, up 10pc on the year. Fixed-line revenues stood at €1.65bn, up 2pc on the year.
However, on closer analysis of the company’s last quarter, fixed-line revenues were down 1pc on the year to €409m.
The company is experiencing a transition from traditional fixed-line revenues to greater growth opportunities in mobile and broadband.
Eircom’s mobile wing Meteor delivered a 33pc increase in subscriber numbers and an EBIDTA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of €54m for the year while DSL broadband additions of 57,000 new subscribers for the last quarter resulted in a total subscriber base of 417,000, up 16pc on the previous year.
Eircom is citing cost and wage inflation as reasons for the likely increase in line rental.
The final number of redundancies is not yet decided but will kick in over the year ahead.
By John Kennedy