State funding promotes e-commerce in regions

A wide range of communications technologies will be deployed in towns and villages across the State following a #250 million (£197 million) investment presented yesterday by the Government.

The funding, to be made available under the National Development Plan, will be used as an incentive to promote the uptake of e-commerce and Internet use in the regions.

Some #75 million in Government and European Union funding will support 13 projects proposed by seven companies. The remaining #175 million will be provided by private investment.

A two-year limit has been placed on the projects to encourage a speedy introduction of services. A second tranche of some #125 million funding will be made available in a further competition to be held over the next few years.

The most expensive project is a #50.3 million plan to construct a broadband network throughout the south-east region by cable company Chorus.

Chorus plans to construct an electronic ring linking Dublin, Cork, Newbridge, Naas, Carlow, Navan and several other towns in the region.

This would reduce the cost of broadband capacity in these areas and make it more economical for the firm to offer a range of Internet and multimedia services.

A flagship project proposed by ESB will see the construction of the State's first national broadband network from the northern tip of Donegal to the most southern point in Wexford.

The project will cost almost #50 million and is being funded by a grant of #16.6 million in public money. ESB will offer other telecoms operators capacity on this network.

Plans announced by Esat Telecom and Eircom will promote digital subscriber line technologies in several towns as far west as Tralee and as far north as Buncrana.

This technology enables firms to offer high-speed Internet and multimedia services over ordinary telephone lines. It may also be used to deliver television signals.

Mr Richard Cooke, chief executive of Esat Business, said the company aimed to introduce DSL services in regional areas to compete with services proposed by Eircom.

Businesses and consumers in Dundalk, Sligo, Carlow and several other regional towns and cities will be offered wireless Internet access by Formus, Chorus and Esat Telecom.

This wireless local loop technology will enable the operators to avoid paying Eircom to use its local access network and having to build broadband cables directly into businesses.

The technology is already being rolled out in Dublin and a few rural areas throughout the State. It can be deployed faster than traditional cabling as operators do not have to dig up roads to deploy services.

Other companies which received funding include Nevada tele.co, which proposes to set up regional e-commerce hubs in Sligo, Galway, Castlebar and Carrick-on-Shannon, and Crossan Cable, which wants to build a broadband network in Longford.

Mr John Doherty, manager of new business at IDA Ireland, said the delivery of public funding would raise the introduction of communications technologies and make regional locations more attractive areas for investment.