Dixon Carphone’s new mobile operator iD goes live across Ireland today with 4G as standard on all plans. The average SIM-only plan on iD will cost customers €20.81 per month.

The new mobile operator will be selling its services across the entire Carphone Warehouse and Dixons chain of stores in Ireland.

The new operator will try to differentiate itself in the market by letting consumers build their own mobile plan, increasing or decreasing the amounts of minutes, texts and data, with the ability to adjust this every month.

The company, which is selling mobile services through a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) structure with Three, is aiming to undercut other players in the market and cited research from Killbiller that indicates iD will cost €166 less per year than the average billpay cost in the Irish market.

4G price wars begin in Ireland

TV and broadband giant UPC is also on the verge of launching its mobile brand as part of an MVNO arrangement with Three, which will increase the number of mobile providers competing in the 4G space to an unprecedented level.

Last year, Three’s parent company Hutcheson Whampoa acquired the O2 network in Ireland from Telefonica for €850m.

According to the general manager of iD, Hamish White, the key is giving Irish consumers choices they didn’t have before.

“iD is all about individuality; when it comes to mobile plans, we know that one size doesn’t fit all,” White said.

“At iD, we are giving customers a completely personalised experience. They are getting a network that treats them like an individual and gives them maximum control and flexibility.”

On choosing a new phone, customers can decide how much they want to pay for the phone upfront (certain handsets start from €0 upfront payment) and then choose how they want to split the balance, whether over 12, 18, or 24 months.

Customers can then build their ideal plan, choosing from 100 to 5,000 minutes, 100 to 5,000 texts and 125 MB to 20 GB budget. There is also a SIM-only plan available.

“Customers can choose plans that adapt and change with their needs. Most importantly, our plans are completely transparent – we give customers everything they want, and nothing that they don’t want.”

Focus on handsets

iD is also claiming to be first to market with a bill that splits out the cost of the handset from the monthly tariff. This allows customers to track how much is outstanding on the cost of the handset over the contract period.

Once the full cost of the handset has been paid, this cost is taken from the monthly bill, leaving only the monthly tariff to be paid.

A spokesperson for iD said that users will be able to sign up for iD in all Dixons and Carphone Warehouse Stores as well as online.

She said that in terms of hardware the company will be just offering handsets rather than wireless dongles or hotspots.

Included in the company’s line-up of devices are the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, and the Galaxy S5, the HTC One M9 and M8, the Huawei G7 and Sony Experia E1.

The full list of iD handsets available at launch: