science

Telecom Éireann

Telecom Éireann is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Telecom Éireann rather than just read about it. In short: Telecom Éireann (Irish pronunciation: [ˈtʲɛlʲəkəmˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ]; meaning "Telecommunications of Ireland") was an Irish state-owned telecommunications company established by the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983, that operated from 1983 to 1999. Prior to then a telephone and postal service was provided by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (known as "P and T" or "P⁊T" in Gaelic script), as part of th…

Key takeaways

Telecom Éireann belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Telecom Éireann to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Telecom Éireann from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Telecom Éireann (Irish pronunciation: [ˈtʲɛlʲəkəmˠ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ]; meaning "Telecommunications of Ireland") was an Irish state-owned telecommunications company established by the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act, 1983, that operated from 1983 to 1999. Prior to then a telephone and postal service was provided by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (known as "P and T" or "P⁊T" in Gaelic script), as part of the civil service. Its full formal title was "Bord Telecom Éireann or, in the English language, The Irish Telecommunications Board". "Telecom Éireann" may be translated as "Telecom of Ireland". In 1999, the company was privatised and renamed as eircom.

Upgrading the network

Telecom Éireann rolled out digital telephone switching technology, across the country along with an extensive fibre optic and digital microwave backbone. Digital technology quickly replaced analogue systems at national and major regional switching centres and new international gateway switches were installed. Two digital switching systems were selected; CIT-Alcatel's E10 and Ericsson's AXE telephone exchange. The oldest electromechanical step-by-step exchanges and manual operator-manned local exchanges were the first to be converted to digital technology. More modern electromechanical crossbar exchanges, using Ericsson ARF, Hitachi and ITT Pentaconta technology dating from the 1960s and 1970s were converted to digital bit by bit through the late 1980s and early 1990s. These crossbar switches were capable of providing voice service that was comparable to digital switching technology. By the early 1990s, the Irish network was amongst the most modern and most digitalised in the world and by the mid-1990s and had become 100% digitally switched. In June 1996, a strategic alliance was formed between Telecom Éireann of Ireland, Telia of Sweden and KPN of the Netherlands, after both companies purchased a combined 35 percent stake in Telcom Éireann. The alliance was completed by 2001, when Telia and KPN exited Ireland. During the time of the alliance it was headquartered in St Stephens Green and Harcourt Street, Dublin. The company also did a major upgrade to the payphone network in the late 1980s, which saw the rollout of smart card based payphones across Ireland. The Telecom Éireann CallCard was one of the earliest implementations chip-based cards in the world.

Eircell

Telecom Éireann launched Eircell (now Vodafone Ireland) in 1984, with operations commencing in 1986. The company deployed a national mobile telephone network based on a first generation mobile technology known as the Total Access Communication System, or TACS for short. This technology, similar to AMPS, was also used in the UK by Vodafone and Cellnet. Eircell launched their digital network based on GSM technology from Ericsson in 1993. GSM service rapidly replaced the TACS network as customers migrated over to new digital technology. Within a few years, the TACS network was obsolete and taken off air.

Other divisions Minitel Ireland (joint venture) The company launched Minitel videotext system in Ireland in 1991 in a joint venture with France Telecom, AIB and Crédit Lyonnais. The system went live after 3 years of trials and development but due to poor uptake, probably due to its relatively late launch that coincided with the beginning of the Web, a more flexible system with a vast array of English-language content, it quickly faded from public attention. The Irish Minitel system had been planned as early as 1988 and envisioned building an ecosystem similar to its French counterpart, with shopping, banking and information services. Minitel Ireland was ultimately shut down due a small and dwindling user base.

Telecom Internet In 1997, Telecom Éireann established Telecom Internet also known as Tinet, the Internet service provider the company rapidly became one of the partners in the Internet Neutral Exchange and is today known as eircom net.

Eirpage Telecom Éireann established Eirpage, a national paging system in Ireland. This system was then controlled and operated by Voxpro Communications, formerly Pageboy (www.voxpro.ie) until the closure of the National Paging System in August 2011.

Eirpac Launched in 1984 to replace Euronet, Eirpac is the Irish public switched data network supporting X.25 and X.28

TEIS (Telecom Éireann Information Systems) This unit sold business systems and office telephone systems to business customers.

TeleCentre – this was Telecom Éireann's retail arm, which was later renamed eircom Store and then shut down as eircom moved away from physical customer contact centres. Since the closure of the stores, customers can only contact eircom online or by telephone. Phonewatch – Provides monitored alarm services to both residential and business customers. The company was rebranded as eircom PhoneWatch. It is one of the largest players in the Irish home security market and was sold to a Norwegian company in 2012.

Support In 1988, it sponsored RTÉ Weather until 1999.

Privatisation

Telecom Éireann was privatised in 1999 and renamed as eircom plc. It was later split into Eircell 2000 plc (Eircell), the mobile networks business, and eircom, the fixed-line business which also inherited other minor divisions, such as the Eirpage pager system and the Telecom retail arm. Eircell was sold to Vodafone in May 2001, and later changed its name to the dual-brand Eircell Vodafone before becoming Vodafone Ireland.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Telecom Éireann

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Telecom Éireann claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Telecom Éireann before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Telecom Éireann ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Telecom Éireann

In research: Telecom Éireann appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Telecom Éireann in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Telecom Éireann is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1984 establishments in Ireland, 1989 disestablishments in Ireland, Former state-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Telecom Éireann outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Telecom Éireann in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Telecom Éireann means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Telecom Éireann out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Telecom Éireann in simple terms?

Why does Telecom Éireann matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Telecom Éireann?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Telecom Éireann.