Cork firm spending £15m on high-speed Net service

A Cork-based business has begun a £15 million (€19 million) investment programme, including a major recruitment drive, to establish a high-speed Internet service here by November.

Genesis Internet Service Provider says it is at the final stages of negotiation with one of the Republic's leading telecommunications operators to deploy its services through fibre optic networks across Europe. A decision is expected within the next week.

Mr Gary Keefe, managing director of Genesis, claims the technology his company licensed from the US last September has broadband capabilities which far exceed anything else available at present.

Since then Genesis has been working with the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation (ODTR) to get approval for technology applications which need to be assessed under broadcast regulations.

Genesis' technology is understood to be capable of piping a television-quality signal through a phone line, allowing users to download videos on demand.

"We have a jump on other ISPs because our technology is based on a switched managed variable bandwidth system which goes well beyond ADSL capabilities over phone lines," Mr Keefe maintained.

Once operational, the service will operate on a monthly charge basis of between £10 and £12 for unlimited access. Varying degrees of service will be charged accordingly, and Genesis plans to target both domestic and business users.

Genesis is seeking to recruit an initial 100 IT professionals and administrative personnel over the next six months.