The government is to invest €435 million to address the digital divide and ensure there is universal access to broadband in Ireland by early 2010.
The investment, which has been earmarked under the National Development Plan, will also ensure that by 2012 broadband speeds in Ireland would equal or exceed those in comparator EU regions, said communications minister Eamon Ryan at the launch of the government’s policy on next generation broadband.
Mr Ryan said he did not expect any curtailment in the level of investment due to the economic downturn.
“I am convinced we have the resources and we have the commitment in government to deliver this,” he said.
Having a world class broadband infrastructure would attract the cutting edge, knowledge-based industries needed to secure Ireland’s future economic prosperity and competitiveness, the minister said.
“The successful transformation to a knowledge economy will be a key determinant of economic success for countries in the coming years,” he said. “The government is setting the development of a knowledge economy at the heart of our economic and social policy. For this to occur, Ireland requires a truly national broadband infrastructure.”
The national broadband scheme would ensure that all requests for broadband will be met in areas currently without access to a broadband service. The minister also said that 100 Mbits per second of broadband connectivity will be introduced to secondary schools on a phased basis.
All new major infrastructure projects will install backhaul ‘ducting’ at the construction phase and the minister said his department was working with the department of the environment to ensure that new build premises will require open access fibre connections with regulation coming into effect by the end of the year.
The government’s consultation paper on next generation broadband also envisages positioning Ireland as a testing ground for the trialling and development of new digital services and telecommunications technologies.