Meteor Mobile Communications operate a GSM cellular communications network in the Republic of Ireland. They issue their new numbers with the code 085, although the introduction of total-number-portability makes access codes a little less relevant on mobile phone systems.

Launched on the 22nd of February, 2001 after a lengthy legal battle to obtain a licence, Meteor slowly picked up a low (under 10%) share of the Irish market. However, they are profitable, and have picked up much of the lucrative pre-paid market among teenagers, due to their low SMS rates and ongoing promotions such as free Meteor to Meteor SMSs. They also pick up more (41%) of all new pre-paid accounts than the other two networks.

Their coverage is often claimed to be very poor by their competitors, but it covers (according to their website) over 90% of the population, and a recent deal with Siemens AG will see them cover almost the entire country by 2005. However, in the interim, they have an internal roaming agreement with mmO2 which means that when out of Meteor coverage, a Meteor customer can use O2's network at no extra charge. On some handsets, this creates the interesting effect of having coverage bars, but no operator logo or roaming indicator onscreen.

Meteor sponsor Ireland's national music awards each year, and they have hence become known as the The Meteors.

Meteors corporate identity is strongly Orange, with an undertone of white (originally grey). This is seen by some to be a slight taunt at the Orange mobile phone giant who had applied for the licence which Meteor got.

Meteor are held privately by Peter Quinn, their founder, and Western Wireless International, a large cellular networks infrastructure group.

See Also

• List of Irish companies

External links

• Meteor Mobile Website  (http://www.meteor.ie)