Tag: #vodafone

Vodafone: Best mobile Internet performance in Ireland 2025

Vodafone leads mobile Internet performance in Ireland for 2025, according to the annual nPerf barometer. This edition reveals strong competition on download speeds and consistent performance across all operators on the 5G network.

Vodafone leads with a score of 98,198 nPoints. With speeds of 94.48 Mbps in download bitrate and 28.02 Mbps in upload bitrate, the operator delivers optimal latency (32.77 ms), ideal for online gaming and real-time communications. Leader in browsing (80.33%) and video streaming (80.16%), it ensures a balanced user experience across all usage scenarios.

Three follows closely with 93,691 nPoints. Speeds reach 116.48 Mbps in download bitrate (first in the market) and 20.56 Mbps in upload bitrate. The operator achieves solid performance in video streaming (77.63%, 2nd place).

Eir completes the podium with 88,447 nPoints and delivers competitive download speeds of 84.06 Mbps. The operator achieves strong browsing performance (77.96%, 2nd place), ensuring smooth web navigation for users.

Measurements conducted via the nPerf application on Android and iOS.

“The Irish market displays healthy competition with solid streaming and browsing experiences across all operators, particularly on the 5G network”, says Sébastien de Rosbo, CEO of nPerf.

Full results

Canyon Launches Jacky SW-69 Smartwatch for the Irish Market

Canyon has announced the availability of the Canyon Smart Watch Jacky SW-69 White & Blue, a stylish and feature-packed wearable designed to support everyday wellness, fitness tracking and smart connectivity for Irish consumers.
Blending a modern aesthetic with practical functionality, the Jacky SW-69 features a vibrant 1.3-inch LTPS touchscreen display with a sharp 360 × 360 resolution, delivering clear visuals for both indoor and outdoor use. Its white and blue colourway offers a fresh, contemporary look suited to work, workouts and leisure.
Health & Fitness at Your Fingertips
Designed to support an active lifestyle, the Jacky SW-69 provides continuous monitoring of heart rate, blood oxygen levels and body temperature, helping users stay informed about their wellbeing throughout the day. With 25 built-in sport modes, including walking, running, cycling, yoga and swimming, the smartwatch enables personalised activity tracking with detailed insights into steps, calories burned and distance covered.
The device also includes sleep tracking, stress monitoring and guided breathing exercises, promoting a more balanced approach to health and wellness.
Smart Features for Everyday Life
The Jacky SW-69 keeps users connected with smart notifications for calls, messages and app alerts, delivered directly to the wrist. Additional features include music and camera control, weather updates, hydration reminders, calculator, stopwatch and a virtual business card, making it a practical companion for daily routines.
The smartwatch is compatible with Android and iOS devices, ensuring a seamless pairing experience across platforms.
Durable Design with Long Battery Life
Built to handle daily wear, the Jacky SW-69 is IP68 water-resistant, offering protection against water splashes, rain and sweat. Its long-lasting battery delivers up to 9 days of typical use and up to 15 days on standby, minimising downtime between charges.
Availability
The Canyon Smart Watch Jacky SW-69 White & Blue is available now in Ireland from Vodafone Friends & Family online.
RRP 59.00 EURO – BUY
We will have a review soon so stay tuned

Vodafone reveals record-breaking connectivity trends in 2025

Ireland’s appetite for connectivity continues to soar, with Vodafone Ireland’s latest network insights revealing record-breaking data usage, festive surges, and a clear shift in how the nation communicates.
Mobile data usage rose by 19.24% year-on-year, climbing from 445,133 TB in 2024 to 530,794 TB in 2025. The busiest day for data was Tuesday, 9th December, when 1,660 TB was consumed nationwide as Storm Bram swept across Ireland. Evenings remain Ireland’s prime time for digital activity, with 10 PM emerging as the busiest hour for online engagement.
While data demand continues to rise, overall voice traffic fell by 7.83% compared to 2024, reflecting a growing preference for messaging, video calls, and social platforms over traditional voice communication. Yet, calls still matter when it counts. The busiest day for calls in 2025 was Wednesday, 26th March, with 502,273 Erlangs – equivalent to approximately 10 million calls, assuming an average 3-minute duration.

Christmas and New Year’s Day saw millions reconnect. Christmas Day recorded almost 3.4 million calls, while New Year’s Day soared past 4.5 million. Together, that’s over 8 million calls during the festive period, proof that when it matters most, Ireland still picks up the phone.

Beyond everyday patterns, 2025 was marked by extraordinary peaks in data usage during Ireland’s major events. During the Ireland vs South Africa rugby match, Vodafone’s network handled over 15,000 calls. Across last year’s Autumn International home matches, Vodafone Ireland’s network managed over 220 TB of data, the equivalent of streaming 73 million songs. Summer’s biggest music moments drove massive connectivity spikes, with Vodafone’s network handling over 5 TB of mobile data across the Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey concerts at Aviva Stadium – powered by thousands of photos, live streams, and social sharing.
These insights underscore the importance of staying connected in today’s world. As demand for data continues to rise, Vodafone Ireland is currently in the midst of a €500 million five-year investment cycle to enhance network performance across the country.
This ongoing investment and network upgrades have ensured an increasingly fast, reliable service for customers, and saw that Vodafone Ireland was recognised by independent benchmarking organisation, umlaut, as “Best in Test” for the tenth consecutive year in 2025.
Technology now touches every part of life – from accessing government services and our ways of working to planning journeys on public transport and staying in touch with loved ones. Ireland is more connected than ever before, and 2026 will bring new opportunities and challenges for our networks as our digital evolution continues.

Cyber Threats Could Force 1 in 4 SMEs to Shut Down After a Ransomware Attack

The latest Vodafone Business Cybersecurity Threat Report reveals a stark reality for Ireland’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), warning that 28% of businesses would be at risk of shutting down after just one ransomware attack, while 94% of Irish SMEs admit they feel unprepared to defend against advanced cyber threats.
With cyber criminals increasingly harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to launch faster, more convincing and more adaptive attacks, the report warns that no business is immune to risk.
AI: The Game-Changer in Cybercrime
The report highlights how AI is now being used to clone voices, impersonate trusted executives, and create highly realistic phishing campaigns, making it harder than ever for busy SMEs to spot malicious activity. These sophisticated identity hacks can lead to operational shutdowns, exposure of sensitive customer data, and long-term reputational damage to businesses.
The financial impact is expected to surge with cybercrime-related costs projected to rise by nearly 50% over the next three years as AI-driven attacks continue to evolve.
The report highlights the emergence of adaptive AI malware, a type of malicious software that can learn and adapt its tactics to evade detection. Traditional antivirus systems are becoming less effective against these shape-shifting threats, signalling a critical need for stronger, AI-enabled defences.
As Irish SMEs begin integrating AI tools into everyday operations, from automating customer service to analysing data, the research shows that 50% of small and mid-sized enterprises ranked cybersecurity among their top five priorities. However, 69% of SMEs admit they lack the proper cybersecurity measures to deploy these technologies safely. This gap is leaving many businesses exposed to new forms of cyberattacks.
However, Vodafone Ireland, connectivity and technology partner to six in ten Irish businesses, emphasises that there are practical steps SMEs can take to strengthen their cybersecurity, such as employee training, software updates, multi-factor authentication, regular backups, and partnering with expert providers for monitoring and threat detection. These measures can help businesses close gaps without requiring extensive IT expertise.
Speaking on the findings, Sinead Perry, Head of SMB Sales – Small & Medium Business at Vodafone Ireland, warned that no business is too small to be a target:
“The scale of AI-powered attacks means no business is too small or too remote to go unnoticed. If you’re online, you’re on the radar. For SMEs, the risk is real – they are big enough to be a target but often don’t have the same security resources as larger firms.”
“Attackers only need to succeed once, while your defences must work every time. Irish SMEs now face two major challenges: defending against AI-driven threats and ensuring their own use of AI is secure.”
“Today, SMEs manage more data than ever before and operate in a complex digital environment that rivals larger businesses. This makes them attractive targets, and with AI in the mix, this threat is evolving fast. SMEs must act now to strengthen their resilience and protect the future of their business. With 2.4 million customers in Ireland, Vodafone is a trusted connectivity and technology partner, uniquely positioned to support SMEs in navigating today’s cybersecurity challenges. This is why at Vodafone Ireland, we are working with leading global technology partners, like Google, Microsoft
and Zscaler, to help SMEs build stronger, smarter defences and protect the future of their businesses.”
The full Vodafone Business Cybersecurity Threat Report is available to download via the V-Hub knowledge centre: https://v-hub.vodafone.ie/knowledge-centre/how-to-defend-smes-from-rising-ai-driven-cyber-attacks.

Irish Girl Guides providing community learning for empowering older adults with digital skills

To celebrate and honour the older adults in our community, Irish Girl Guide members are teaching digital skills. This past week, Leaders from 10 new Units across Ireland joined a growing cohort of Hi Digital trained Members.

In total, 30 Units are ready to work with older people on the island, which include 60 Leaders and 402 Guides (10-14 y.o.) and Senior Branch (14-30 y.o.).

Since Irish Girl Guides started the partnership with Vodafone Foundation, over 2,000 older people have learned new skills, and this number will continue to expand.

The members learned about some of the barriers older adults face in navigating the digital landscape and how they can help combat social and digital isolation through the Hi Digital programme in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation.

The Units host sessions in their community centres, in parish churches, in Men’s and Women’s Sheds and Active Retirement Groups. Hi Digital sessions last one to two hours and the older adults get a chance not only to learn new skills but also to chat over a cup of tea or a mug of soup.

Learning digital skills is not just about understanding the step-by-step instructions but building confidence and skills towards a more independent life. This is achieved through comprehensive education that demonstrates not just how singular apps work but through universal symbols and recognizable instructions while supporting the growing confidence in the older adult.

One older participant said, “I feel more at ease, knowing that much more about my phone”. While the Irish Girl Guides grow into confident Leaders, they are also helping show the older adult’s new ways to lead more independent lives as they navigate their phones. As one Clogherhead Senior Branch member highlighted, “it was really great for our personal growth but also our community growth”.

Watch this video to see the Hi Digital programme in action!

To see more about Hi Digital check out www.hidigital.ie and for more about the Irish Girl Guides go to www.irishgirlguides.ie

Ookla: Ireland H1 2025 Connectivity Report

When Ookla was founded in 2006, high-speed home internet was just becoming available in many locations, and consumers needed a reliable way to test their network speed. Speedtest®, the company’s flagship product, is the most accurate tool for measuring a network’s capabilities. Today, modern connected experiences require reliable, consistently high performance across many additional metrics beyond download speed, including low latency for gaming, high-quality video streaming, good upload speeds for teleconferencing, and fast page load times while browsing on a mobile device.

In this evolving connectivity landscape, Ookla remains fiercely committed to measuring worldwide internet performance — as well as availability, quality of service (QoS), and quality of experience (QoE) of fixed broadband and mobile networks. For over 17 years, Ookla has been perfecting the way we test connectivity services and transparently reporting on their performance. By capturing real-world metrics and delivering insights back to network operators and policymakers, Ookla serves as the bridge between consumers and the telecommunications industry.

Every day, millions of people press the “Go” button on Speedtest to better understand the performance and quality of their internet connections. This consumer-initiated testing reflects how people actually experience the internet, when and where it actually matters to them. Because Ookla has the world’s largest network of testing servers located across every country and major population center, Speedtest does not introduce any extra travel time as the data passes between the device and server — which provides the most accurate measure of real-world network speed.

In addition to consumer-initiated testing, Ookla collects billions of mobile network samples daily, which measure radio signal levels, network coverage and availability, and QoE metrics for a number of connected experiences, such as streaming video, video conferencing, gaming, web browsing, and CDN and cloud provider performance.

Data Collection Period: January – June 2025

Three led the mobile market across key performance metrics

Three was the fastest mobile provider in Ireland for all technologies combined and for 5G during 1H 2025. Across all technologies combined, Three recorded a median download speed of 70.36 Mbps, while on 5G it recorded 129.84 Mbps.

Three and Eir Fibre offered the best gaming experiences

Three offered the best 5G gaming experience in Ireland during 1H 2025, while Eir Fibre recorded the best gaming experience among ISPs.

Virgin Media the fastest fixed ISP in Ireland

Virgin Media was the fastest ISP in Ireland during 1H 2025 with a median download speed of 269.47 Mbps, and a median upload speed of 48.84 Mbps.

Limerick and Lucan were the top performing urban locations in Ireland

Among the most populous urban locations in Ireland, Limerick recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 113.71 Mbps, while Lucan outpaced the other locations to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 281.14 Mbps.

  • Three was the fastest mobile provider in Ireland for all technologies combined and for 5G during 1H 2025. Across all technologies combined, Three recorded a median download speed of 70.36 Mbps, while on 5G it recorded 129.84 Mbps.
  • Virgin Media was the fastest ISP in Ireland during 1H 2025 with a median download speed of 269.47 Mbps, and a median upload speed of 48.84 Mbps.
  • Three offered the best 5G gaming experience in Ireland during 1H 2025, while Eir Fibre recorded the best gaming experience among ISPs.
  • Among the most populous urban locations in Ireland, Limerick recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 113.71 Mbps, while Lucan outpaced the other locations to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 281.14 Mbps.

 

 

See the full report HERE

Vodafone Ireland partners with the OGCIO to trial next-generation communications technology for emergency services

Vodafone Ireland has partnered with The Office of the Government CIO (OGCIO), within the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to trial next-generation communications technology to transform emergency services in Ireland.

The new technology is being showcased this week at an international event in Co. Mayo, attended by both Irish and International Public Protection Disaster Relief (PPDR) agencies, including An Garda Siochana, the Irish Coast Guard, Irish fire services, civil defence, Revenue (Customs Service) and the HSE/National Ambulance Service.

The event is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht and Mayo County Council.

Next-generation Mission Critical Communications Technology 

Vodafone Ireland’s Mission Critical Communications (MCx) network is the first of its kind for PPDR agencies in Ireland. Built specifically for emergency responders, MCx provides priority access on mobile networks, enabling teams to talk, share data, and coordinate instantly – even when networks are congested.

This marks a major step in moving from legacy voice and text services to secure, high-performance digital tools, in line with international standards for PPDR communications.

Vodafone Ireland’s solution will combine roaming on its national 4G and 5G networks with direct-to-device satellite connectivity in the future. This will allow anyone, on any network, to reach 112 or 999 during emergencies, even in remote or weather-affected areas. Similarly, in the future, PPDR agencies will be able to access direct to device satellite when mobile networks are unavailable.

Westport Event

The Westport event features a proof-of-concept trial of the new technology. Over two days, staged simulations will replicate complex, evolving incidents, training first responders on new communication capabilities while testing interoperability and operation procedures across multiple agencies.

Participants include local agencies such as Mayo Fire, Mayo County Council Emergency Plan, Public Health Nurse, and local GP, alongside international experts and PPDR representatives from Scotland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The trial builds on Vodafone’s critical national infrastructure network, with government agencies now able to access Vodafone’s 4G/5G network via roaming services. This opens the door to cross-border cooperation, enabling European PPDR agencies to coordinate more effectively during international emergencies.

Strategic Importance

The trial is being observed by European PPDR agencies and European Commission department DG HOME’s EuCCs initiative as part of broader efforts to establish a pan-European mission-critical communications platform, enhancing cross-border emergency communications.

A key highlight of the event includes a situational reenactment of the MV Matthew interdiction in Cork (2023), demonstrating how enhanced communications can improve situational awareness, operational efficiencies, and response times. Several of those involved in the original operation are contributing their experience and insights to the exercise.

Comments

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers said: “This trial is a vital pillar of Ireland’s digital transformation, and a crucial step forward for our emergency services and emergency management. It demonstrates how intergovernmental collaboration between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Office of the Government CIO, and partners like Vodafone is driving innovation in public safety. By modernising our emergency communications infrastructure, we’re ensuring that first responders have access to secure, high-performance tools that will save lives and strengthen community resilience.”

 

Sabrina Casalta, CEO Vodafone Ireland said: “Ireland is showing real leadership in how we modernise emergency communications. This trial is not just a milestone for Vodafone Ireland and the Irish Government; it marks the first time a mission critical communications system of this kind has been deployed in Ireland. It is proof that we are leading the way in Europe by building resilient, future-proof systems for public protection and disaster relief. We’re proud to partner with the OGCIO to deliver trusted connectivity in innovation that will save lives.”

 

Sheila Kavanagh, Network Director, Vodafone Ireland said: “Vodafone has been supporting the build out of the Irish Government’s National Low Latency Platform for the past three years using our fibre network. We are delighted to build upon this work by enabling national roaming for PPDR agencies on our mobile network through Vodafone Roaming Services. Crucially, Vodafone Ireland can integrate our direct to device satellite technology as part of our NLLP strategy in the future, delivering the reliability our first responders need from a communications platform.”

Vodafone Ireland’s digital assistant TOBi Learning the Lingo

TOBi, Vodafone Ireland’s award-winning AI-powered self-service assistant, might still be getting to grips with Irish phrases like “acting the maggot” or “sucking diesel” but it is already doing the hard work behind the scenes, helping customers 24/7 with top-ups, billing queries and much more. TOBi now resolves 60% of customer service queries without the need to talk to someone, a milestone in AI-led customer care.
New research conducted amongst 1,000 people on behalf of Vodafone Ireland by Coyne Research shows that AI has officially been adopted by consumers and has become an everyday tool. Almost half of all Irish adults (48%) now use AI weekly, with usage rising to 66% among Gen Z, nearly a quarter of whom use it every day. One in three people are already using AI for customer service, while one in five rely on it to help write something, whether it’s an email, college assignment or social post.
Two in five consumers (40%) now claim to have a good understanding of AI technology, evidence that awareness of AI is growing rapidly. Confidence is even stronger among men, with nearly half of males (48%) believing they have a good or very good grasp of what AI can do. This rising confidence is reflected in overall experience as 40% of consumers say their interactions with AI have been positive, signalling a major shift in how the technology has moved from a niche innovation to a routine part of how people in Ireland work, communicate, and solve problems.
Vodafone Ireland is also addressing uniquely Irish challenges through TOBi’s ongoing development, as it constantly learns to understand Irish accents and Irishisms. With three in five survey respondents acknowledging their own difficulties in understanding certain Irish accents (particularly Kerry, Cork, and Donegal), TOBi is being specially trained to recognise regional dialects and local expressions, from “banjaxed” to “acting the maggot.”
Interestingly, one in three people believe AI can understand Irishisms, such as “grand” or “c’mere to me” – though “banjaxed” (60%), “sucking diesel” (59%) and “acting the maggot” (52%) were named the most confusing for both AI and people alike to understand.
Gen Z and Dubliners are the most confident that AI like TOBi is catching on to these Irishisms.
The development of TOBi is part of Vodafone Ireland’s broader €10million investment in enhancing its customer care experience, resolving common customer queries and expanding care channels to ensure faster, more flexible help for customers. As a result, Vodafone Ireland now offers the longest customer care hours and the largest retail footprint in the market, as well as the only 24/7 AI resolution option available from any Irish telecoms provider.
“TOBi isn’t just a chatbot,” said Ciaran Barrett, Commercial Operations Director at Vodafone Ireland. “TOBi helps our customers everyday by giving them fast, intuitive support any time of the day or night- whether they want to check a bill, query a charge or top up their account. TOBi learns from every interaction, adapting to how Irish people speak and what they need. This is AI made useful, not just clever.”
“Our research shows that Irish people are becoming more comfortable with AI – and we’re meeting that shift with technology that actually delivers. TOBi is getting smarter, faster and more helpful all the time. While TOBi is still learning to understand every accent and irishism, it absolutely gets what our customers need and is fully supported by our team of care specialists as well as the largest retail footprint in the country – giving our customers real choice in how they connect with us.”
Unlike many digital assistants that simply provide information, TOBi is fully integrated with Vodafone Ireland’s core operating systems, enabling secure, real time account changes and issues resolution, distinguishing Vodafone Ireland’s care offerings from its competitors.
As TOBi grows in popularity as a support option, Vodafone Ireland’s customer care performance has surged. The company now solves 80% of customer queries on the first try and has seen calls drop by half over the past three years, as customers have fewer reasons to contact Vodafone.
Offering customers greater choice remains central to Vodafone Ireland’s approach to customer care. While TOBi handles the bulk of straightforward queries, customers with complex or sensitive queries can still rely on speaking to a care specialist. According to this research, 90% of people still prefer talking to a human for more complex queries, but younger users increasingly embrace digital options for speed and convenience.
At Vodafone Ireland, every connection counts. TOBi is helping Vodafone Ireland to lead customer service innovation, demonstrating how AI can enhance rather than replace meaningful customer connections.
Vodafone Ireland currently serves over 2.4 million customers nationwide and was recently named Ireland’s ‘Best Mobile Operator’ for the tenth consecutive year by independent benchmarking organisation umlaut. This achievement has been driven by Vodafone Ireland’s €500 million investment over five years (2024–2029) in enhancing mobile and fixed network quality, coverage, and capacity for customers across Ireland.

Vodafone Ireland Launches Critical Service for Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Vodafone Ireland has announced the launch of Real-Time Text (RTT), a breakthrough accessibility service designed to improve emergency communications for the Deaf and hard of hearing community.
Vodafone Ireland is the first mobile operator in Ireland to introduce RTT, reaffirming its commitment to inclusive, barrier-free digital communication and connection.  The service is now available for emergency calls following pilot tests on the Vodafone network supported by BT ECAS and ComReg.
RTT is a next-generation messaging technology that enables text to be transmitted instantly, character by character, while maintaining a voice connection – eliminating the need to press “send.” This creates a more natural, fluid communication experience, particularly for deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired users.
Vodafone Ireland customers using both Android and iOS devices can now activate Real-Time Text (RTT) directly via their handset accessibility settings. Once enabled, RTT allows users to send and receive text instantly during a call – making communication more accessible, especially for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
 Crucially, RTT is fully compatible with Ireland’s Emergency Call Answering Service, allowing users to communicate directly with 112 or 999 in real time. This capability can be lifesaving in urgent situations where every second counts.

Approximately 5%, almost 270,000, of the Irish population reports a hearing impairment, according to latest Census data. With the European Accessibility Act coming into effect last month, the need for inclusive digital communication has never been more urgent and RTT is a vital step forward in ensuring equal access for all, especially in critical services like emergency response.

The RTT service is natively supported on smartphones that meet international accessibility standards.
These devices allow character-by-character text transmission during voice calls, without requiring third-party apps or additional hardware. This ensures that users can communicate directly and immediately in emergency situations and in everyday interactions.
Commenting as the service was launched today, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D. said:
“The introduction of Real-Time Text by Vodafone Ireland marks a significant milestone in our national journey towards digital equality. As the European Accessibility Act comes into force, it is heartening to see Irish tech leaders stepping up with meaningful innovation which instantly improves lives. Most importantly, RTT empowers people who are deaf or hard of hearing to access emergency services with the same immediacy and simplicity as anyone else. This is not just a technological advancement – it is a statement of inclusion, of equality and our shared commitment to building a digital society with universal access.

The RTT service is already available on the majority of Vodafone smartphones in Ireland right now, meaning the opportunity to make inclusive communication the norm is already in our hands.  I encourage not only the Deaf and hard of hearing community, but the wider public also to embrace RTT. By making it part of our everyday communication and help ensure it becomes a turning point for real inclusion in a more connected society – one where everyone has the tools to engage, contribute and to be heard.”

Welcoming the launch, Chief Executive of Vodafone Ireland, Sabrina Casalta, said:

“At Vodafone Ireland, we’re committed to keeping everyone connected – our mission is to ensure digital access and connectivity for everyone, everywhere. RTT represents a significant step forward in digital accessibility, especially in emergency scenarios where real-time communication can save lives.  We are proud to be the first in Ireland and one of the leaders in Europe to bring this innovative service to market, that we believe can change lives for the better. The RTT launch has been developed in partnership with government stakeholders, accessibility advocates, and emergency response teams. Vodafone’s RTT deployment places Ireland at the forefront of inclusive tech innovation in Europe.”
Speaking at the launch, Mark Byrne,  CEO of Chime, Ireland’s national charity for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people said:
“Chime is excited to see Vodafone Ireland leading the way in ensuring crucial accessibility to emergency services through its RTT service. We know this is a major challenge for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people who face barriers in reaching emergency services when they need to.
We commend Vodafone for gathering important feedback from Irish Sign Language users on the RTT, ensuring inclusivity for everyone. We hope to see further investment and expansion of digital accessibility across the communications sector in Ireland.”
Vodafone is Ireland’s leading total communications provider with 2.4 million customers and employs over 2,000 people directly and indirectly in Ireland. Next year, Vodafone Ireland will mark 25 years in Ireland. Vodafone Ireland was recently named Ireland’s best mobile operator for the 10th year in a row by independent benchmarking organisation, umlaut. Vodafone Ireland was also recognised as Best in Reliability, Best in Voice, and Best in Crowdsourced Reliability.
What is Real-Time Text (RTT)?
RTT is an accessibility service that allows text to be transmitted instantly as it’s typed, allowing for natural, real-time conversations. Unlike traditional SMS or legacy TTY systems, RTT doesn’t require waiting for a full message to be typed before transmission. It is especially useful for Deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired users and supports full interaction with emergency numbers 112 and 999.
How to Enable RTT on Your Device
Vodafone Ireland customers using both Android and iOS devices can now activate Real-Time Text (RTT) directly from their handset settings.
·       On Android, users can go to Settings > Accessibility > Hearing > RTT and toggle the feature on.
·       iPhone users can enable RTT by navigating to Settings > Accessibility > RTT/TTY and switching on “Software RTT.” Once enabled, RTT allows users to send and receive text instantly during a call — making communication more accessible, especially for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.ie.