Eircom and Irish Multi-channel have been awarded two narrowband licences which will enable the operators to bring a wider range of telecoms services to customers in rural areas.
The licences - awarded yesterday by telecoms regulator Ms Etain Doyle - mean operators can provide customers with wireless access to basic telephony, Internet, e-commerce and ISDN connections.
Fixed Wireless Point to Multipoint Access or wireless narrowband technology offers operators an alternative way to connect customers to the local loop network which is radio based rather than relying on copper or fibre optic cable.
The provision of such a service is considered especially important for rural customers with no access to fixed line telecoms infrastructure.
At the presentation of the licences, Ms Doyle said it was very important that the Information Society was inclusive and not just confined to areas where fibre optic cable was available or economic to roll out.
Small businesses and residential customers would also benefit from a connection which was more flexible and less expensive alternative to traditional lines, she said.
Eircom will begin rolling out a £250 million (€317.7 million) narrowband network over three to five years while Irish Multi-channel will invest £140 million in its narrowband network over two to three years.
A third narrowband licence is still to be awarded to Esat Telecom.
A spokeswoman for the telecoms regulator said yesterday this would shortly be awarded when certain technical provisions had been received from the company.
