Ireland needs to spend as much as €5 billion on its telecommunications infrastructure to provide a first-rate broadband service to all homes and businesses, industry body the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF) said.

The Government and industry should co-operate better to accelerate investment in broadband and achieve the best possible coverage, it said. The private sector is investing €600 million a year on bridging the State's gap with broadband access in other countries, the federation said.

"Broadband must be recognised as an essential utility and given similar status to other infrastructure projects," said Tommy McCabe, director of the TIF.

"Recent surveys suggest the uptake of broadband by small and medium-sized enterprises boosts economic activity and helps create new business, more jobs and better customer service."