merrion street

Minister Rabbitte today welcomed Eircom’s significant investment to provide fibre broadband access to 1.2 million homes and businesses by June 2015. The investment will offer speeds of up to 70 mbps, which  is expected to advance to speeds of up to 100mbps  with technology advances within the next 2 years. Commenting on the Government priority to deliver high speed broadband access he said:

“The  Government’s “National  Broadband Plan” commits to making  fast broadband available to all premises  in the lifetime of this Government.  Eircom plays a key role in the delivery of this infrastructure.”

On the importance of high speed broadband access he added:

“High speed broadband will bring economic and social benefits across Ireland. The Government’s Plan lays the foundation for further momentum along our path to recovery. The resulting high speed broadband will be crucial for innovation, crucial for job creation and crucial for the continued attraction of inward investment to Ireland. The emphasis on universal access will ensure balanced benefits, delivering the connected society, at higher speeds, to all.”

Commenting on the  benefits of the Eircom investment he said:

“The investment  by Eircom at this time is a significant demonstration of confidence by commercial  investors in our path to sustainable economic recovery.”

He added:

“The plan to pass 1.2 million premises is itself  significant. The network is also accessible to Eircom’s competitors as a wholesale product.    The introduction of  competition from the outset is itself evidence of Eircom’s confidence in its retail products  and should maximise innovation and competitive retail pricing   to the benefit of customers.”