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FEATURE | STT Communications

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PATRICK FREYNE examines why we don’t have a first class next generation broadband network in this country, and whether STT Communications’ recent purchase of a majority stake in Eircom could hasten its long overdue development.

generation?

IN 2007, the main issue around broadband was the lack of it. Only 58 per cent of the population had access. Although that figure has risen to 90 per cent, now, as the experts will tell you, it’s not quantity but quality that’s at issue. While some of our competitors in Europe have speeds of up to 100mbps, Ireland’s top rates languish at a relatively weedy 24mbps. This inconvenient truth clashes somewhat with Ireland’s reputation as a high-technology hub and the stated government policy of turning the state into a knowledge- intensive ‘smart economy’. Thankfully, there have been moves made to bring us in line with other European countries with Eircom’s announcement in March that it was introducing high-speed broadband to improve service for up to a million customers by the end of the year. Existing broadband customers on 1mb, 3mb and 7mb will be upgraded free of charge in all Next Generation Broadband exchange areas. However, 8mb speed was chosen for the roll out which will be initially available in Dublin before being expanded to the other major population hubs of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. Other European territories already have 24Mb speed on similar technology and the roll out seems to neglect rural areas that have never enjoyed access to broadband. So, while this is a move in the right direction, all eyes will be on STT in the short-term to ensure that fixing the situation is dealt with as a matter of urgency. “To some degree, we find ourselves in this

38 InBusiness May 10

situation because of the history of Eircom,” says Claire Cunningham, Managing Director of Aura Internet Services and Chair of Chambers Ireland’s Digital Policy Council. “They have the largest network in the country, and what’s happened is that any investment they’ve put in over the past few years has really been all about the maintenance of the existing network, which mainly consists of copper. That was ok for the last century but for a modern, first-class next generation network, we need to switch to fibre. Nearly everyone agrees on this.” Mark Kellett, Managing Director of Magnet, is even more critical of the incumbent service provider. “Historically, they have invested to maintain their networks but not to enhance them,” he says. “They’ve stayed with 20th century technology when everyone else has moved on to the next century. They’ve had five owners in a short period of time, who only seem to have been interested in taking what they could out of the business. The employees, many of whom are good people, have been trying to move the business forward, but what has been happening is that investors have been coming in, adding debts to the business and taking large transaction fees out. While the launch last March of what looks to be an improved service for some areas of the country, we need a solution that benefits the whole country, not just parts of it. Up until now there hasn’t been the funding to develop the network to the level the country needs.”

What of

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