But this licence was withdrawn in February 2006 by Comreg due to a failure by Smart to provide a €100 million performance guarantee bond in a form acceptable to it within the specified deadline.

Smart Holdings Ltd lost a bid to sponsor the weather forecast on RTÉ to Glanbia on 7 April 2006.

[5] Having head-hunted 49 managers from eir to promote and market broadband door-to-door, some up to five months earlier, the Chief executive of Smart Telecom, Oisin Fanning fired 26 of them abruptly on 31 August 2006.

Later prospects were defined by the achievement of substantial growth in broadband sales volume and eliminating losses, heralded promises which stakeholders, including Seán Quinn, were waiting patiently to emerge.

The acting chief executive, Ciaran Casey, then carried out an in-depth financial review of the company as a further investment of €30 million was sought.

Details of a strategic review, published on 22 September 2006 meant that the employee cohort would be cut from 348 to c100, additional loan funding was to be provided by major shareholders and the company would divest its payphone and pre-paid call card businesses so as to focus on its corporate and residential broadband businesses.

The result was that the majority of Smart Telecom's customers could not make outgoing calls (except for emergency numbers).

Shortly afterwards, then-Communications Minister Noel Dempsey called on Eir to reconnect a full telephone service to Smart customers.

Comreg then announced an interim measure where phone lines to Smart customers were reconnected and they were given the option to join other providers.

Smart Telecom entered examinership in August 2009 with an internal examiner reviewing their debts revenue and business structure.