Lake Communications will launch the latest version of its digital phone system - EKIS - this month. The system brings ISDN digital technology right onto the user's desktop, instead of running through a switching box into the phone line.

It is geared primarily for the European market, where ISDN take-up is much better than in Ireland due to increasingly deregulated telecommunications markets.

"The slowness here to adapt to ISDN reflects a very protectionist view in Irish society. Politicians should open up the market. Telecom has already proven it can handle competition by being at the leading edge technologically. It will lead to lower prices eventually, and if jobs are lost, that might help resolve the skills shortage problem," says Mr Bermingham.

As home working and remote usage continue to increase, Lake has also been involved in a project with Motorola to integrate its ISP-modem software onto Motorola chips.

By developing Lake's software to incorporate multiple access on a single chip, both of the companies are now pushing the boundaries of their technologies.

The final product will allow Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer simultaneous Internet access to a number of users from a single processing chip.

In the meantime, Lake is working closely with the International Telecommunications Union to try to find an agreed standard for the next generation of modem - 56 kb/s.

The primary application of this modem will be in Internet access - an area that Lake has earmarked as key to its future.

In July, the company hosted a meeting of technical experts from more than 40 of the world's leading datacommunications groups.

Through contribution to technical discussions, Lake is working to bring the process forward, though a solution is not imminent as there are already two competing standards.