Dermot Ahern Welcomes Huge Increase in Broadband Take Up

damien

Dermot Ahern Welcomes Huge Increase in Broadband Take Up

Year end target of 100,000 users is in sight

Dublin, Sunday 22 August 2004

Dermot Ahern T.D., Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has welcomed figures from industry sources which show broadband take-up running at 2,000 users per week, putting the 100,000 users target before year end well in sight.

Industry sources put current subscribers levels in excess of 70,000, a figure which represents approximately 6% of households in the country.

Minister Ahern said, These indications are especially pleasing in that they show a continued acceleration in broadband take-up during the Summer period which is usually a quiet time with schools off and people on holidays. This strong growth is a vote of confidence from the consumer and vindicates our policy which has resulted in increased competition and lower prices.



Metropolitan Area Networks (MANS) project

The first phase of the Metropolitan Area Networks project involving 26 towns is now nearing conclusion following Government investment of some €80 million. In addition, investment of a further €55 million in Phase II will ensure that 40 other towns will reap the benefits of this high-speed connectivity. A call for proposals, which closes next month, has issued to local authorities for these towns and construction work on these projects will commence in the autumn.

In these two phases, over 100,000 kilometres of fibre is being installed, providing open access, ultra high-speed broadband infrastructure in all counties.

As part of the Broadband Action Plan, a further 51 towns have been earmarked for the Phase III provision of high-speed broadband infrastructure. Projects for these towns will be undertaken next year.



Group Broadband Scheme

The Group Broadband Scheme is open to all smaller and rural communities of less then 1,500 people. It is modelled on the Group Water Scheme and will empower local communities to draw up and implement their own broadband plans in partnership with broadband service providers. The first five projects in this €25 million Scheme have been announced with another four to follow in the coming months.



Schools Broadband Access Programme

Minister Ahern, in conjunction with his Cabinet colleague, Education Minister Noel Dempsey, have stated their intention to deliver broadband access to over 4,000 schools by September 2005. Both Ministers have launched the Schools Broadband Access Programme which is supported by Government and industry funding of €20 million. A tender seeking the provision of broadband connections and services between school premises and a central network for a period of three years closes on Monday 23 August. Minister Ahern said, It is as important that every school - primary and post primary has broadband as well as blackboards. I want to see every child in the country doing their schoolwork on PCs by 2008 and that is the next challenge to Government and industry.

Minsiter Ahern concluded, Through a range of projects and investments we continue to deliver broadband into our cities, our towns, into industry and into our schools. Broadband is the future, and reliable, fast connectivity to the outside world will lead the way in investment, both inward and outward, in job creation and in up-skilling our schoolchildren. Broadband will keep Ireland at the forefront of technological evolution.

I'm awaiting a call back from the Press Office about who these Industry Sources are and what are the figures.

spongebob

damien.m wrote:

6% of Households

Bloody illiterates . There are between 1.4 Million (Census 2002) and 1.5 Million Households in the State because we have built a lot of new ones since April 2002 if I am not mistaken. 70,000 out of 1.4 Million Plus would be a figure of Under 5% of Households.

The 70,000 also includes business customers who are not Households are they . My sources indicate that only c. 40,000 of the connections go to households and that 30,000 go to businesses . Thats a figure of Under 3% of households but a significant percentage of businesses to compensate somewhat for that .

The 70,000 does not include Cable Modem or WISP customers .

M

eircomtribunal

damien.m wrote:

Year end target of 100,000 users is in sight

Dublin, Sunday 22 August 2004

Dermot Ahern T.D., Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has welcomed figures from industry sources which show broadband take-up running at 2,000 users per week, putting the 100,000 users target before year end well in sight.

It is painful to see, again, Dermot trumpeting the pathetic targets and figures of Eircom.

100 000 dsl connections, Eircom's declared goal for the year 2004 will do nothing to bring Ireland's broadband usage to the average EU-15 level by mid 2005, as the DCMNR's policy directive to ComReg demands.

The official average EU-15 broadband take-up level end 2003 was at over 6% per population (not to be confused with per household figures!), that would be the equivalent of 240 000 Irish bb connections. And by mid 2005 the average will be already significantly higher again, probably in the 7% to 8% range, especially if the two laggards Greece and Ireland rise from their 1% position.

Without a swift, radical and comprehensive change in the Irish regulatory regime, the goals of the minister's policy directive are not achievable.

P.

damien

Had a chat with Comreg. They don't know what Dermos Industry Sources are but I bet it's their Quarterly Report that they have to give him as per the last Policy Directives. The report that is classed as "Commercially Sensitive" so can't be seen by us the taxpayers.

Now some facts, I got on to the CSO who tell me in their last ICT report the households in Ireland was 1.3641 million in June 2004.
(http://www.cso.ie/publications/ict/ictirelandjune2003.pdf)

After 3 phonecalls I am still waiting for the DCMNR to give me an answer about where they sourced their figures.

Amarach state 3% coming up to June 2004 had dsl. Where is the other 3% coming from I'd like to know.