Eircom to bring in flat rate broadband at €45

Eircom ended weeks of speculation yesterday when it announced its consumer broadband service would start on April 11th at a flat monthly charge of €45 plus VAT.

The company is also close to agreeing a wholesale rate with other telecoms players that will see competitors introducing rival broadband products over coming weeks.

But the announcement is unlikely to mollify the Government which is pressing Eircom to unveil a cheaper flat-rate dial- up service by mid-summer. Broadband will be available to 700,000 households, rising to one million by December, Eircom said.

Managing director Mr Cathal Magee said the i-stream starter package would half the cost of broadband to non-business users. I-stream will operate up to 512 kilobytes per second and is available as a self-install version (€81.81 ex VAT) or fully connected (€165 plus VAT).

Eircom is also to widen the availability of broadband to consumers within 4.5 km of a telephone exchange, from a current limit of 3.5 km.

Competition is expected to arrive sooner rather than later as Esat-BT will announce a rival package as soon as it has struck a wholesale rate with Eircom. The British-owned operator reported slow take-up for its consumer broadband package, launched in December and at €50 per month.

A heavy marketing campaign will accompany Eircom's roll-out, including in-store demonstrations and television and radio commercials.

The paucity of broadband facilities in the Republic was highlighted in a World Economic Forum report last month. The State ranked 51st on the forum's global index of broadband availability, lower than Tunisia, El Salvador, Namibia, Peru, Nicaragua, Botswana, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil and Romania.

The lowest marks came in the area of high speed and public internet access, with the Republic coming in at only 31st for public availability of internet access through libraries, telecentres, post offices and other locations. This trails Peru, Estonia and Argentina. The Republic ranked 24th in the availability of mobile internet access.