IRISH cable television operators are to spend well over £100 million during the next 10 years to develop their networks and expand their business.

About £90 million has already been invested over the past three years and many operators have seen the benefits from the increased revenue that additional channels and tailored services can bring.

The new investment, to be shared by the State's five main cable and MMDS (also known as cable wireless) companies, will be aimed at modernising Ireland's cable network to create a nationwide platform that will play a key role in the information society.

The five, Cablelink, Casey Cablevision, CMI, Princes Holdings and Suir Nore, collectively make up the Irish Multi channel Operators Association which is currently changing its name to the Cable Communications Association of Ireland (CCAI). With the name change the industry also plans to be more aggressive in both lobbying Government and banging its own drum.

The cable industry says its employs about 1,000 people directly and with subcontractors who carry out work on their networks. But according to CCAI secretary Mr Ray Doyle, this number should grow substantially as new services being planned by operators require additional administrative and technical staff.

Ireland has one of the most modern telephone networks in Europe, in part because Telecom Eireann was one of the last companies to upgrade and was therefore able to move en masse to newer technology. But without substantial investment, Ireland's cable companies could suffer the reverse phenomenon.

The cable market here is mature and has good penetration a high of 70 to 80 per cent in some key urban areas compared to an average 21 to 22 per cent in Britain. But much of the network, particularly in traditional cable as opposed to MMDS, is in need of an overhaul if it is to become a main route in the information superhighway.

Northern Ireland has never had cable television. But CableTel, the company which was last year awarded the new 15 year cable/MMDS franchise for the North has already started to construct its network a network that will be far superior to any currently in existence in the Republic. CableTel, which is investing £600 million sterling in the North, will offer consumers more than 40 channels and its cable will also carry a voice telephone service.

British cable companies which offer voice telephony have seen income from this sector overtake that from television and CableTel has already signalled its intent to aggressively market its phone service. It announced recently that its cross border tariffs will be up to 23 per cent cheaper than those of British Telecom and similar statements about other tariff areas are expected.

When the telecom market in the Republic is opened to competition, cable networks are likely to be a key alternative, but investment is required to enable them to handle voice telephony. But whether Cablelink, which is controlled by Telecom Eireann, will want to spend millions of pounds so that it can "compete" with its parent is open to question.

Telecom though has signalled its intention to develop Cablelink following last year's decision to up its stake from 60 to 75 per cent at a cost of £13.6 million. The deal valued the State's largest cable operator at over £90 million.

Earlier this year, Cablelink chairman Alfie Kane said he was considering boosting capacity and creating a Dublin TV channel. Mr Kane, who is chief executive of Telecom Eireann, also plans to use Cablelink to offer services such as Internet access and home banking.

CMI, headed by Ray Doyle, also plans to offer Internet access and a 13 week test is about to begin on its behalf. CMI would initially offer the service in its Swords/Malahide licence area and would be disappointed if work could not start on the service by the end of the year.

About 490,000 homes in the Republic have cable or MMDS which is about half the number of homes with televisions. The industry's objective is to bring their service to about 70 per cent of homes. They expect that most future growth will come in MMDS, which uses wireless signals to bring a cable service to oral areas.

The CCAI says delays in enforcing regulations have hurt MMDS, as illegal deflector schemes continue to operate in many areas. Such uncertainty "is not the best climate for investment", according to Mr Doyle. He says the industry was given a commitment that such operators would be closed down, but this has not happened.

Mr Doyle said he and CCAI chairman, Mr Kevin Windle, have had a series of meetings with BBC, SKY, ITV and copyright holders to encourage them to pursue what he describes as "the illegal use of their product".

The High Court has ruled that the application for a licence by the Carrigaline deflector group must be given fair consideration by Communications Minister Michael Lowry. The consultants report he commissioned on the application is due to be presented in September. The CCAI is also to present a consultants report on the use of UHF spectrum deflectors in Ireland.

The association says the experience with illegal deflectors is but one manifestation of the lack of a coherent Government policy on the cable industry and its development. With the advent of new technologies such as digital television and the expansion of the information society "this is precisely the wrong time to have confusion about Government policy", according to Mr Doyle.