ESAT will offer a high-speed internet service in Limerick, Cork and Galway from next month as part of a €40 million plan to bring digital subscriber line (DSL) technology to the regions.

DSL technology enables consumers and businesses to connect to the internet at speeds up to 30 times faster than current internet connections. It is considered crucial to attract inward investment to the Republic.

Esat's service, to be offered in about 35 towns outside Dublin, also marks a regulatory milestone in the Republic as the first example of a process known as "unbundling the local loop".

This process, mandated by the EU on January 1st, 2001, enables competing telecoms firms to access an incumbent operator's local telecoms network to offer services. Up to now, Esat had complained that Eircom was stalling this process by forcing the operators to engage in tortuous negotiations to access its local network.

KPN Qwest, NTL, Worldcom, Formus, Cable & Wireless, Genesis and Aurora withdrew from the process last year due to a combination of these regulatory issues and deepening financial problems.

But it is believed Esat has at last been able to access some of Eircom's exchange buildings to install its own equipment. And from next month it will rent lines from Eircom to offer its own high-speed internet service direct to consumers.

The cost of the service is expected to be similar to Eircom's i-stream service, which will also be introduced in May at a minimum price of €89 per month. But it is believed Esat will offer a slightly different service that enables consumers to send files at higher speeds than Eircom's proposed i-stream product. This may prove popular with companies.

Esat will also introduce a type of technology called synchronous digital subscriber line to the Republic shortly. The Esat project to bring DSL technology to the regions has been part-financed by a €10 million grant under the e-commerce and communications infrastructure provisions of the National Development Plan.