Mobile operator Three is to hike its monthly mobile phone bills by as much as 25pc, it has emerged.

The move comes almost a year after the company acquired O2 Ireland for €850m and can be seen as a move to even out pricing differences between customers on what is essentially the second-largest network in Ireland.

The move comes just weeks after successive network glitches that saw users temporarily without services.

According to the Irish Independent,the price rises will apply to bill-pay customers on SIM-only deals from June.

Up until recently O2 Ireland bill-pay tariffs were the most expensive in Ireland, and Three would have been seen as one of the cheapest.

The hike – from €20.33 to €25.41 – could be seen as an effort by the operator to generate greater profitability from its operations in Ireland, especially after losing €1bn in Ireland since establishing here a decade ago.

Three downplayed the impact of the price hike. “Less than 1pc of Three customers are impacted by a €5 per month increase in one of its SIM-only price plans,” a spokesperson told Siliconrepublic.com.

“This increase reflects substantial network investment by Three following which the SIM-only price plan will remain one of the best value mobile packages available. Three will continue to assess its price plans aimed at enhancing its value proposition to customers and its value offering relative to other mobile operators.”

Mobile bills image via Shutterstock