40th anniversary of Ireland’s first mobile phone call marked following decades of investment and digital progress
- First mobile network catered for only 1,000 phones in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA)
- Telco industry has invested €5 billion in networks in last eight years, managing a 460% increase in data traffic, while the sector employs over 24,000 people in Ireland – TII report
- Approximately 99% of the population can avail of 4G/5G coverage and almost 95% of households here have internet access, of which 87% can access fixed broadband – CSO
Today marks 40 years since the first mobile phone call was made in Ireland, a pivotal moment that began one of the most significant technology transformations in the country’s history.
On December 11, 1985, the then Minister for Communications, Jim Mitchell TD, phoned broadcaster Pat Kenny. The pair had a brief chat about the broadcaster's Best Dressed Man of The Year award.
Since that first analogue call, Ireland has become one of Europe’s most advanced digital nations, powered by significant industry investment, best-in-class networks and rapidly evolving digital progress.
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD – who reenacted the call this week with now broadcasting legend Pat Kenny – said that the evolution of telephony and digital communications had been well embraced by Ireland, with its benefits reaching into almost every corner of the economy and society today:
“Given the recessionary environment here in 1985 it was a significant feat for Telecom Éireann to invest into a new telecommunications market, 40 years ago. Within a decade, market competition really grew and now, incredibly, there are five million smartphone users in Ireland.
“If we add that to the parallel revolution in broadband – including the State’s successful National Broadband Plan rollout - and major investment by the providers themselves; networks and connectivity are of a really high quality, which enables more innovation and job creation.”
Four Decades of Progress
Telecom Eireann entered the world of mobile telephony in 1984 after receiving a licence from the Department of Communications. Eircell was launched in 1985, and the first mobile call took place on its network. In the years that followed, Ireland moved through major mobile milestones.
In 1997, only 10% of the population had a mobile voice device; this had increased to 54% by the end of 2000. Most recent figures report a penetration rate of almost 111% of the population.[1]
There were 410,000 mobile phone customers in 1997 which increased to two million by the end of 2000. Today there are over six million mobile voice and data subscriptions.[2] The use of SMS messages in Ireland grew rapidly from less than one million messages in early 2000, peaking at 3.2 billion messages sent at the end of 2011. Since then, SMS messages have consistently declined to 570 million messages in Q3 2025.[3]
Ten years ago, the average mobile phone user sent almost 100 SMS text messages per month and used 2.71 GB of data over the same period, but today the average user sends 32 SMS messages per month and uses 20GB of data.[4]
TII Director Nicola Cooke said a recent economic and social impact study completed by Ibec (October 2025) showed just how dynamic the sector is:
“There has been €5bn in network capital investment by the industry over the last eight years, in addition to €2.7bn in annual spend with suppliers in Ireland. The telecoms sector – which provides direct employment to 24,000 people in Ireland – is also a huge enabler of the economy and wider society, bring connectivity across the whole country.
“Telecoms is one of the few services where consumer prices are now lower that they were 10 years ago, and that is down to major competition in the market, with a huge range of choice and dozens of packages on offer. The fact that around 99% of the population can avail of 4G and 5G is also testament to the commitment - and financial investment - provided by our members.”
“Ireland has come a long, long way since that first call 40 years ago, and we are now among the most progressive countries in terms of our digital transformation, sitting in fifth place among 27 countries on the EU digital index.”
Ends
[1] ODTR - Microsoft Word - odtr9713
[2] ODTR - https://www.comreg.ie/media/dlm_uploads/2015/12/odtr0091.pdf
[3] ODTR/Comreg: The Irish Communications Market - Quarterly Review
[4] Comreg: Data Portal | Commission for Communications Regulation
