There is a good communications network in place in Ireland, whether you are using landlines or mobile devices. Naturally, you will want to get a phone shortly after arriving in Ireland. It is a good idea to take your time and shop around to see which package and provider are best for your specific needs.
Different service providers in Ireland
There are a number of major phone service providers to choose from. For landlines, some of the popular ones are Eir, Pure Telecom, Sky Ireland and Virgin Media. For mobile devices, some of the popular ones are Vodafone, Three and Eir Mobile.
How to get a landline in Ireland
If you have a permanent base in Ireland, you may want to set up a landline for yourself. This is more reliable a lot of times than mobile phones as you know it will not lose its signal. You simply choose a provider and arrange a day for them to come and install the landline in your house.
You can often bundle together your television and/or internet services under the same package to make matters more cost and time-efficient. Rates will depend on the provider, where you are calling and what time of day you are making the calls.
You will usually need to provide some form of proof of address and a government-issued ID to sign up for a subscription.
How to get a mobile phone in Ireland
Mobile phones are the most popular way to communicate in Ireland these days. If you already have an unlocked phone, you simply need to get an Irish SIM card for it, and you will be ready to go. As Ireland uses a GSM network, not all mobile devices will be compatible. If your current phone is not unlocked, then you may need to buy a new one and get a new phone plan.
If you are very new to the country, you may have to pay a bit more upfront than the phone than usual because of the lack of credit history. Most major phone networks will have shops you can walk into and browse the different phones and plans on offer.
Communication prices in Ireland
If you are an EU citizen and going to another country in the EU, there are no longer any roaming charges in place. Prices for your plans will vary depending on your needs. Usually, you will be part of a package where you get a certain amount of free texts calls and data per month. The average price of a monthly phone bill will be in the EUR20-EUR25 range.
Making phone calls in Ireland
If you want to ring an international phone number when you are in Ireland, you will first need to add 00 as a prefix and then add in the relevant country's code. If you are ringing a UK number, for example, it would be 00 44 followed by the number. The country code for Ireland is 353.
If you are making a call to a landline number from a mobile device in Ireland, you will need to add 01 before the number. All mobile numbers in Ireland will begin with 08.
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