Ms Mairead Cullen:

We recognise members' concerns and we are aware they were raised at the last meeting of the committee. Mobile coverage can be affected by a number of factors. The industry is continuing to invest significantly in the network. We are adding new sites on a continuous basis, upgrading the technology to extend the reach of our network and we are constantly examining innovative solutions to introduce coverage in areas where it has not been feasible previously. We recognise that the services and the demand for services are growing on our network and that our customers' expectation is growing constantly.

How they use our services is changing, for example, where they put their telephones in cars. Previously, the telephones would have been located high on the dashboard of a car but with the evolution of technology and Bluetooth, devices can be located anywhere in the car. This is changing customers' experience of how they use our network and how they feel about the service they are receiving from the operators. We constantly continue to push the technology and to push the solutions we are providing. In parallel, customers' expectations and use of our network change.

One effect of the investment we are carrying out on the network is that it requires intervention on the network, so from time to time customers will experience a degradation as a result of our activities on the network. We try to manage this and to minimise the effect it will have on customers' experience but, unfortunately, it is inevitable that they will experience this occasionally while we are conducting upgrades and changing the technology for their benefit.