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IrelandOffline urges action on Innovation report

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  • 15-03-2010 7:01pm
    #1
    bealtine
    Registered Users Posts: 4,051 ✭✭✭


    http://www.insideireland.ie/index.cfm/section/news/ext/irelandoffline001/

    Internet pressure group IrelandOffline has called for urgent action to implement the broadband recommendations contained in the Government's Innovation Taskforce report.

    The recently published report singled out the dire state of broadband delivery in the Republic and said it was a critical priority in need of investment if innovation is to be enabled and exploited.
    relandOffline spokesman Eamonn Wallace said: "Basic facilities such as water and electricity are included in development plans without question, the Innovation Group has now created a requirement that communications facilities be treated in the same way.

    "However these recommendations are the same as in previous reports, we hope the opportunity now is taken to turn the recommendations into concrete proposals."

    IrelandOffline has campaigned for many years for improved broadband services and welcomed the suggestions made by the high-level group. Amongst the suggestions that IrelandOffline considers essential is that all public infrastructure include provision for shared ducting for communications services.

    "The Innovation Taskforce includes the following recommendation 'provision of access to public ducting infrastructure' by establishing the planned 'one stop shop', Mr Wallace said. "This idea has already been put forward by IrelandOffline and we are presently examining regional development plans to ensure they include open access ducting in their infrastructure actions.

    "In addition to longer term planning IrelandOffline insists that ComReg, the communication regulator and the Department of Communications must supervise the roll-out of high speed reliable broadband more closely.

    "IrelandOffline has repeatedly taken the regulator to task for allowing less than optimal services such as 3G be called broadband. The Innovation Report has endorsed this by pointing out that 'uncontended access' (user does not have to share bandwidth with other users due to network constraints) is an absolute requirement for proper broadband facilities.

    "The Innovation Report quoted a Forfas survey which identifies the Irish broadband situation in the following terms 'In Ireland, 5 percent of broadband connections are above 10Mb/s. The EU-24 average is 15.5 percent of connections above 10 Mb/s'.

    "IrelandOffline has used similar data to identify the ground that Ireland has to make up if it is serious about being a major player in the so-called smart economy," Mr Wallace added.


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