Sir, - Paul Stokes (April 9th) offered a timely reminder of just how far behind we are when it comes to Internet access and the implications of the Neanderthal access speeds which most Irish people must endure. We should feel a sense of outrage that he enjoys "always-on" broadband Internet access in sunny Southern California for a quarter of the price people here pay for 56.6k dial-up modem access(which, as you know, tends to mean maximum access of 33k for most unfortunate Irish subscribers!)
Ireland is definitely in the Internet slow lane, as we were also reminded by the survey in your Business section of April 6th. But such reports are completely ignored and never warrant a single expression of mild concern from a politician of any party! A survey from a leading international consultancy said Ireland was definitely a "consumer laggard" that could safely be ignored by European e-businesses. With an economy that owes its recent prosperity to the spectacular growth of its IT sector, surely we should be just a little worried by that?
We need a digital Bill of rights to give every citizen the right to broadband access either at minimal cost or free depending on their circumstances, and a Minister for the Digital Economy with the brief of moving Ireland into the fast lane. Not only is our prosperity dependent on it, but social justice demands that we make universal access to broadband a fundamental right! Surely the ICTU and IBEC could provide joint leadership in campaigning for this? - Yours, etc.,
Ronan Tynan, Esperanza Productions, Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.