A spokeswoman for BT Ireland said the company will launch a trial before the end of the year. A commercial launch, however, will have to wait until BT (and competitors Smart Telecom and Magnet) can agree terms with Eircom to access its network.

Talks on accessing the local loop, the copper wire linking individual homes with Eircom-controlled exchanges, through which all three companies provide services to their Irish customers, broke down last month.