€4bn needed to give required broadband access, conference told

The Government has been told that €4 billion is needed for a new, State-wide fibre optic network which would bring a range of services such as phone, television and fast internet access to individual homes.

The Shannon Development Authority chief executive, Kevin Thompstone, said yesterday that "a leap to the next generation of telecommunications" is vital so that every household would have broadband access.

Speaking at a conference on "e-towns" in Tarbert, Co Kerry yesterday, Mr Thompstone said Ireland is third from the bottom of a league of 30 countries in the OECD for average download speeds, and investing in the phone network to provide what is known as DSL broadband would be of only limited use.

Shannon Development Authority, which has developed a 60km broadband ring around Limerick city, is asking Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan for €25 million to set up a pilot next-generation network around its base of Shannon in Co Clare.

E-towns are a Shannon Development promoted concept which combines work and living space in one unit, with good telecommunications, located in small clusters in the centre of rural towns.

Mr Thompstone said telecommunications speeds internationally were getting faster all the time and he instanced South Korea, which has download speeds up to 20 times that available in most Irish homes.

Ireland's communications system would not be able to cope with the high speeds of the future and in this regard was not "future proofed", he said, adding: "Ireland shouldn't be on catch-up with other countries when it comes to advances in telecommunications. We need to be leading future development and investing in infrastructure ahead of demand."

Mr Thompstone was supported by Gillian Buckley, chief executive of the Western Development Board. She said: "We don't accept the attitude, particularly in relation to broadband, that 'It will do, sure it is good enough'."

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times