Broadband policy: tell the Government what you think

July 4, 2008 · Posted in broadband · Comment 

Have your say about Broadband in Ireland!The Irish Internet Association (IIA) welcomes the Government’s plan for next generation broadband which was launched yesterday by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamonn Ryan, T.D

The ten-step plan includes targets for physical infrastructure, access and research. The IIA in particular welcomes the Government’s acknowledgement of the importance of education through its promise of 100 Mbs access in all secondary schools on a phased basis.

CEO of the IIA, Fergal O’Byrne, said that, while increasing access is a major step addressed by the plan, the IIA have always maintained that the Irish Government should ensure not only Availability but Affordability and Access Speeds as well. The IIA contributed submissions to the Government’s consultation process comprising these key aspects and other concerns voiced by the IIA membership. In order to do this the IIA set up a Physical Infrastructure Working Group whose membership includes key stakeholders and experts in the area.

The Government has called for further submissions on this policy with a deadline of September 30th 2008 and we want to hear your opinion on their proposed policy. Please feel free to leave comments via the comments or mail members at iia dot ie.

You can access the Consultation Paper on Next Generation Broadband as a PDF on the Department website. Make sure you have broadband and time before you download: it’s 2Mb and 61 pages.

Keith Bohanna, chair of the IIA Physical Infrastructure Working Group will be writing a post on this blog which will expand on some of the issues and we will welcome comments on his post as well.

The IIA think that as a knowledge economy Ireland should be leading the world in software services, online services and eGovernment and in order to do that cutting edge broadband infrastructure is a must.

Japan, the Scandinavian countries and other parts of Europe all enjoy broadband access at much higher speeds than are currently available anywhere in Ireland, at a fraction of the cost. The IIA look to these countries as an example of the broadband services that Irish businesses and citizens can look forward to if the Government implement the policy which they launched today as expeditiously as possible.

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