Recession-hit Ireland is still struggling to recover from the economic downturn, but this has not deterred Imagine, a home-grown company in Ireland, from offering 4G services. More than 5,000 household in Dublin have signed up for the revolutionary service, as the new broadband and phone network WiMax extends its coverage to the capital of Ireland.
Homeowners have obviously been tremendously impressed with Imagine's fifty per cent cheaper broadband and phone prices on the WiMax network, compared to other operators. High demand has allowed Imagine to pump capital into building out the WiMax network and increasing capacity in regional towns and cities across Ireland.
Former Telecoms giant Eircom (News - Alert) could be in the soup, as industry sources predict that the company could lose an additional 50,000 customers in 2011, when homeowners make the transition to Imagine WiMax for faster speeds and increased savings of over$533.
The concept of WiMax has an added advantage in that it can be used while on the move. All that is required is a 4G dongle that plugs into a laptop. Internet browsing at speeds 10 times faster than the now outdated 3G service, makes it ideal for streaming videos, social networking and video chat. The WiMax network extends from the likes of Tuam and Sligo in the west of Ireland, to Wexford in the southeast, Dundalk and Drogheda in the northeast and Youghal, Middletown and Killarney in the southwest.
Dublin has outpaced London, Paris and Berlin, as its residents are among the first in Europe to experience an Internet hot-spot the size of a city. Imagine has also managed to roll-out the 4G network in traditional Internet black-spot areas.
Brian O'Donohoe, Imagine's managing director, was delighted to make Dublin home to a super-fast Internet and phone at half the price of other products, and said that convenience and simplicity in use had been factors that had attracted apartment dwellers resulting in a strong uptake.
Imagine's home phone "Talk Anytime" services start at only $ 26 per month, a 51 percent saving on Eircom. Imagine's 4G unlimited Internet plan is $46 per month, a 50 percent saving on Eircom. And combination packages, which bundle phone and broadband, start from $40 per month, a 36 percent saving against Eircom's prices.