AMAZON KUIPER
A licence application from Amazon Kuiper Services Europe SARL for a wireless telegraphy satellite earth station (SES) licence to operate the SES within 18 GHz and 28GHz frequency bands in Elfordstown, Midleton, Co. Cork is before ComReg. The license would enable Amazon to connect to its Kuiper non-geostationary orbit (NSGO), to provide satellite broadband services directly to customers in Ireland. ComReg's provisional view is that the proposed NSGO SES would not result in harmful interference to existing SES and fixed radio links operating at the relevant GHz bands.
2025-2027 STRATEGY STATEMENT
ComReg's 2025 – 2027 Strategy Statement, which looks at postal services, radio spectrum management and electronic communications strategy, is available. The strategy aims to address strategic priorities, including connectivity, compliance, consumer protection and cybersecurity.
WACC ANNUAL UPDATE 2025
The 2025 update to the Weight Average Cost of Capital is available, as required under Decision D10/20 on Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), which relates to pricing for fixed line communications, mobile telecommunications and broadcasting.
Q1 2025 DATA REPORT
ComReg's Q1 2025 Quarterly Data Report on the Electronic Communications market presents statistical data from authorised operators on a quarterly basis and aims to represent 95% of the total market. It includes data on the broadband, retail broadband, and mobile markets, and details network rollouts, broadband speeds and market shares per subscription types. ComReg also published an Open Data Map Hub with an interactive application to show Coverage and Take-Up of Gigabit Broadband (FTTP and Cable) by county across Ireland.
EUROPEAN ACCESSIBILITY ACT
The European Accessibility Act (an EU Directive) aims to grow the market within the EU for products and services it regulates by making them more accessible, removing barriers and harmonising accessibility requirements. Under the Directive, Electronic Communication Service providers are required by 28 June 2025 to ensure that their services are designed and provided in accordance with the applicable accessibility requirements. Providers must prepare and publish information on how services meet accessibility requirements, ensure certain procedures are in place, and take steps to ensure services remain in conformity with requirements. ComReg possesses monitoring and enforcement powers in relation to accessibility requirements.
IMPLEMENTING CUSTOMER CHARTER
ComReg's decision on implementing a Customer Charter is available, with the intent of improving transparency and enhancing customer service quality in the electronic communications sector. The decision requires all service providers with a market share of 0.5% or greater to prepare, publish and update a Customer Charter detailing their customer service commitments. Charters must be published on the service provider's website and include commitments on service response times, new service connections, refunds and service outages. Service providers must measure their performance against charter commitments and submit quarterly reports to ComReg.
NETWORK OPERATIONS ANNUAL REPORT
ComReg's Network Operations Annual Report 2024 outlines the activities of ComReg's Network Operations Unit in ensuring the security of Ireland's electronic communications network and services. Storms and system failures, including hardware faults, software faults and software bugs, were the main causes of a loss of over 32.5 million user hours resulting from security incidents in 2024. The report also considers the threat of scam communication, with over 45 million scam calls blocked in 2024. ComReg emphasises the importance of improving power resilience, maintenance and testing procedures to mitigate future disruptions caused by security incidents.
ACCESS TO THE FILE POLICY
ComReg's Access to the File Policy is available. It deals with access to information on investigations into regulatory breaches. Access to the file may be granted to persons on whom an Authorised Officer has served a notice of suspected non-compliance or, subsequently, a referral report. As a general principle, access will only be provided to investigatory material relevant to the suspected regulatory breach or breaches.
CONSULTATIONS
EIR 2015-2016 Universal Service Funding Application
ComReg is consulting until 5 August 2025 on the eir 2015-2016 Universal Service Funding Applications Consultation. ComReg's preliminary view is that the provision of the USO does not represent an unfair burden for the relevant period.
Proposed Licensing Regime for PMR and WBB LMP
ComReg is consulting until 22 August 2025 on proposed changes to the licensing regimes for Private Mobile Radio (PMR) and Low and Medium Power Wireless Broadband Systems (WBB LMP). The proposed framework covers annual licensing renewal rights, rollout and usage obligations and a fee structure based on administrative costs, geographic scope, channel and exclusivity. The proposed changes seek to ensure efficient spectrum management, enhance connectivity and provide regulatory predictability.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
