Eircom today launches Ireland's first 4G mobile phone service which claims to offer speeds of up to 10 times faster than what is currently available. 

The fourth generation in mobile technology is available on the network's Meteor and eMobile services' bill pay plans to more than 1.2 million customers in Dublin, Carlow and Athlone, or 30% of the population. 

In the coming weeks the service will be rolled out to other areas including Cork, Galway and Limerick with an aim to reach 43% of the population by Christmas. 

It means customers can expect peak speeds of between 20 to 25 Mbps, allowing faster access to web-based services including streaming and downloading videos, social media applications and email. 

The service will require both a 4G-capable handset and a 4G sim card. Eircom is offering the service on 19 handsets, MiFi devices, dongles and other mobile broadband solutions from today at a starting consumer plan of €49 per month.

CEO of Eircom group Herb Hribar said the technology will transform Ireland's mobile user experience. "Our vision is to provide seamless access to high speed broadband across Ireland using both fixed and mobile technologies."

The introduction of 4G in Ireland comes nine years after Vodafone first launched 3G services here in 2004.