Business Opinion:First let's get the bad pun out of the way. Ireland Offline has gone offline. There, done it. Now we can ask what should we read into the decision of the broadband lobby group to wind itself up? Could it be that high-speed broadband has been delivered to the four corners of the land and Ireland Offline is thus redundant.

The answer here is a resounding no, as survey after survey continue to show us lagging an array of countries in the implementation of what is basic economic infrastructure.

Some progress has been made as Damien Mulley, the outgoing and final chairman of Ireland Offline, acknowledges. The most significant is the agreement earlier this year between Eircom and ComReg, the communications regulator, on a system by which internet users can switch providers without losing service for a significant period.

Indeed Eircom's chairman Pierre Danone does seem to be determined to live up to the promises he made when he took over. But there are many obstacles, not least - one suspects - the financial imperatives of Babcock & Brown, the Australian private-equity group that owns Eircom and by extension the core of the national broadband network.

This really is not the time to let up the pressure - such as it is - on Danone and his employers. But Mulley's decision is understandable. No matter how committed you are, bang your head against a brick wall long enough and it will start to hurt.

In any case, it should not be up to organisations such as Ireland Offline to champion the rights of consumers when it comes to an issue as important as broadband coverage and telecommunications in general. And in fact it isn't. The regulator, ComReg, has a function in this regard and operates a consumer advisory group. Unfortunately, it is not held in much regard by the likes of Mulley.

Their low opinion of the advisory group appears to be supported by documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, which show that members of the panel get paid €1,500 per meeting and get very generous expenses. (Although not all members of the group accept payment.)

According to minutes obtained by Ireland Offline, a typical meeting of the group would appear to consist of a briefing from one of the phone companies after which the members of the panel raise the obvious consumer issues such as roaming charges or broadband availability. There are three meetings a year.

We are left in the dark as to whether the phone companies politely tell the group to take a hike or engage with its members in a meaningful way. One must suspect the former and would have to question how effective the panel is in its mission to "help ComReg's decision making by raising specific issues of consumer concern".

You can't help feeling the big winner from the decision by Ireland Offline to shut up shop is ComReg. The organisation was as much a thorn in its side as it was with Eircom and the other phone companies. When, as expected, ComReg approves the price rise application that Eircom diplomatically put off until after the election, there will be one less voice criticising ComReg as it does its bit to keep inflation over 5 per cent.

But, in theory, the departure of Ireland Offline from the stage should not matter as we have the National Consumer Agency (NCA). Remember, it was set up by a working group established the last time inflation really began to bite.

The NCA has a mandate "to ensure that the voice of the Irish consumer is heard" and "brought to the forefront of national and local decision making". If that does not sound like a rod for beating ComReg, then nothing does. And ComReg knows it. Presumably it is watching with interest the turf war being fought over consumer advocacy in financial services. It is pretty clear that the Central Bank does not want the NCA sticking its nose into this area, which it has nicely boxed off with the nominally independent Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority. (Ifsra).

To be fair to Ifsra, it has done much good work in the area of consumer education, but has yet to register with the public as their advocate or as a critic of financial institutions and their products - never mind even commenting on the activities of its parent, the Central Bank. It also claims to speak for consumers via a consumer panel.

If the NCA is kept out of financial services, then the various other regulators, including ComReg, will demand the same terms, effectively locking the agency out of everything from gas prices to the cost of a stamp. Not very smart when inflation stands at 5 per cent.