Access to Broadband

Madam, - I was intrigued by Fintan O'Toole's column of August 31st in which he wrote about the long wait he has had to endure…

Madam, - I was intrigued by Fintan O'Toole's column of August 31st in which he wrote about the long wait he has had to endure to get connected to Eircom's broadband product. Still he waits, according to the piece. He writes: "It is immensely difficult, in the so-called free market, to buy this particular service".

That may be true in the case of a monopoly, but hadn't Mr O'Toole realised that there is choice in broadband provision in this country, with a range of other providers offering alternatives to Eircom? Indeed, your paper recently carried a very useful feature on the current broadband providers ("A little research of broadband services can go a long way" (August 8th). - Yours, etc.,

Dr RUSSELL SKELTON, Wheaton Hall, Drogheda, Co Louth.