The Minister for Communications has announced five trial programmes that will deliver wireless broadband Internet access.
Mr Dermot Ahern said the projects will begin shortly in Dublin, Cork, Mayo, Sligo, Limerick and Louth. The trials of the local area networks (LAN) will provide high-speed access in a number of locations in these areas, including a university, hotels, specific towns and a conference centre.
Mr Ahern said the trials will play a "vital role in allowing high speed communications access without the necessity of installing fibre optic cables or wires".The trials will test the feasibility of wireless LAN broadband technology and identify how and where it can be used.
The locations proposed for the various trials are: Dublin's Digital Hub, Trinity College, Cork City and the Mahon area, Dundalk, Drogheda, Ardee, Westport, Sligo, a confernce centre, a ferry terminal and one hotel in Dublin, Limerick and Galway