A new €8 million information and communications technology development will give the south-east a distinct advantage in attracting inward investment, that's according to the project manager with the South East Information Society Strategy (SEISS), Mr Frank McCarthy.
He confirmed yesterday that the South East Regional Authority (SERA) is seeking tenders for a project that will provide Carlow, Clonmel, Dungarvan, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford with broadband fibre-optic networks.
The new infrastructure will open up a range of possibilities for attracting new industry, e-working, video-conferencing and other high-tech applications to the region.
The main objective of the proposal is to enable the south-east to address the bottlenecks in the provision of advanced, competitive telecommunications services, said Mr McCarthy. The initial phase will provide services in each of the towns and cities and it is then planned to connect the towns and cities to each other.
"We believe that this strategy will position the south-east as a 'best in class' region for the provision of advanced telecommunications and the promotion of the development of the information society," said Mr McCarthy.
"Developing the 'last-mile' of the telecommunications infrastructure in the six locations will enable equal access to all potential customers for any service provider who wishes to offer services on the network. This will lead to a competitive market structure," he added.
The total project cost for the implementation of the six municipal networks is €8 million, for which 90 per cent grant aid has been approved under the National Development Plan.
Design and specification of the network has been agreed and completed and the project has gone to tender. Work will start in January next and will be completed later in 2003. It is expected that the greater part of the installation will be in place by the middle of next year.
"This vital new broadband infrastructure will immediately put the south-east in the lead in competing for new knowledge-based foreign direct investment," said Mr McCarthy.
"It will allow international businesses to transfer vast amounts of data - including enormous multi-media files - in minutes. The need for frequent foreign travel will be significantly reduced by the local availability of broadcast-quality video conferencing. It will facilitate business people, entrepreneurs and creative individuals to e-work from home with the global marketplace literally at their fingertips."
Local authorities in each of the six locations will provide ducting and fibre-optic cabling, which will be routed throughout the towns and cities in such a way that it will pass close to the "point of presence" of the current telecommunications providers such as Eircom, O2 and others, as well as all other places where potential customers live and work.
The network will be owned collectively by the local authorities in the region.