Broadband Internet Access

Ireland

In Ireland, the telephone monopoly Eircom resisted the introduction of broadband because they were making so much money from per-minute billing on 56 kbit/s dialup. A consumer pressure group, IrelandOffline, was set up which was successful in convincing the government to force Eircom to introduce flat-rate dialup billing. Local loop unbundling (LLU) was slow to take place, with the telecoms regulator Comreg being slow to take action against Eircom. As in many other countries, localities in rural Ireland are unable to get DSL over copper. The government-sponsored Group Broadband Schemes have helped some local communities set up their own internet networks whether with wireless or other technologies.

Broadband is now available in areas near DSL-enabled exchanges (for the 78% of lines that aren't faulty) from several companies other than Eircom. These include Esat BT, Smart Telecom and UTV Internet. Irish Broadband have started offering wireless broadband connections at up to 2Mb symmetric in the major cities.