The range of products available at reasonable prices and varying speeds throughout the EU highlight the digital divide between the Republic and the rest of Europe
During EU Competition Commissioner Mr Mario Monti's speech earlier this month at a public hearing in Brussels, he called on telecom operators to help make the internet available at faster speeds, more quickly, throughout Europe.
Although it was revealed at the hearing that only 900,000 lines have been unbundled in member-states since the liberalisation of Europe's telecoms sector, it is clear that Irish internet users are paying excessive prices for poor service compared to users in the rest of Europe where unbundling has been equally slow.
Presentations by telecom operators on the range of products available at reasonable prices and varying speeds throughout the EU highlighted the increasing digital divide between the Republic and the rest of Europe.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, has stated that low-cost, high-speed internet access is a key element of this Government's communications policy. However, while the Government is spending large amounts of money on infrastructure development, we continue to fall dangerously behind in the formation of a connected, knowledge economy. Jobs are at stake. Multinationals and indigenous companies are aware of the State's lack of connectivity and have begun to locate elsewhere or be impeded by it.
Focusing on assisting late adopters of such technologies, the Government is overlooking what is available to those of us who are already using the internet and its potential. We have had "high-cost, low-speed internet access" in the Republic for many years. Only four months ago was a truly broadband product made available, at a staggeringly high price.
Recent aggressive marketing of slow "high-speed" ISDN connections appears to have been an exercise in making Irish users grateful for what they've got while hoping they do not find out that there are real broadband services available elsewhere at lower prices. With no 56K dial-up flat-rate product available, is it any wonder the State's internet penetration rate is as low as 34 per cent?
During the 1990s, as a result of increased exposure to the internet during education and work, people began to realise the opportunities that it provides. Many traditional businesses have now embraced the use of electronic data interchange, e-mail and the Web as a research tool.
However, the lack of a flat-rate 56K dial-up has damaged the perception of what the internet can be used for, and how it can be used. Clock-watching has become an acquired habit of the Irish internet user, and slow speeds are the expected norm.
Even with the introduction of affordable broadband products, the Republic is still going to need a flat-rate dial-up product. ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) is only available if you live within a 3.5 km radius of a phone exchange. In many rural areas, the deployment of phone lines was poorly managed and splitters have been used on lines, which prevents the use of ADSL. Also many apartment blocks in larger towns and cities are wired in a way that prevents the use of ADSL. So what are these users to do? Move house?
Recent research by British regulatory authority OFTEL, which introduced 56K dial-up flat-rate access, showed how the weekly average number of hours spent online by a user with a "flat-rate" subscription was equal to more than three times that of a user paying per minute. Voice calls will not become more expensive if such a product was to be introduced, as many believe. Networks can be designed and configured to manage congestion with increased use, which is a common complaint made by flat-rate opponents.
Other European telecom operators have embraced the opportunities offered by blanket roll-out of broadband services and have moved quickly to ensure that competition has a hard time keeping up. Eircom has decided instead to stick to the status quo.
Fewer than 1,000 ADSL broadband connections have been sold to date. Eircom said it hoped that ADSL would be the biggest thing that would happen in the Irish internet market. Possibly - but not if the cost to a user is close to €1,700 a year for a metered service!
Faster unmetered products are available for just €480 a year elsewhere. Eircom protects the revenues from its current per-minute charging model to the detriment of its customers - Irish users.
This Government's first priority should be to lower the costs of what we already have. We are paying through the nose while waiting for something that may not be available nationally for years through the Government's "New Connections" plan. The Government, together with the regulator and the Competition Authority, who have both seen their powers increase with the passing of the recent Telecommunication and Competition Bills, must take a more proactive stance.
Home users and small businesses are not being given adequate consideration. In the short term, they must work together to investigate the use of legal instruments at their disposal to ensure that the Republic has a chance at becoming a connected society able to compete within the knowledge economy of the EU.
Far greater vision, understanding, continued commitment and action is required to ensure we can keep up, when we manage to leave the starting blocks.
David Long is chairman of IrelandOffline (www.irelandoffline.org), a consumer group lobbying for nationwide availability of flat-rate dial-up access and affordable broadband services.
