DUBLIN could have a new television channel if plans being considered by she chief executive of Telecom Eireann, Mr Alfie Kane, come to fruition. In his first in depth interview, which appears in today's Business This Week, Mr Kane also outlines his plans for the future of Telecom.
Mr Kane believes the new channel could be carried on the Cablelink network, which is connected to eight out of every 10 Dublin homes. Mr Kane is the chairman of Cablelink, which is a subsidiary of Telecom Eireann.
A new channel would require a licence from the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and might also require permission from the Department of Communications. It is understood that a final decision will not be taken on a new Dublin station until the detailed research of the market is carried out.
At present, Cablelink has the capacity to carry 10 channels into homes throughout Dublin. Mr Kane intends to increase this capacity to 20 channels within the next year.
Mr Kane also intends to introduce "near video on demand" on to the cable network. The service would allow customers to choose from a broad range of films which would then be transmitted to their homes almost immediately. The service may become available within the next year.
Once Cablelink has doubled its channel capacity, Mr Kane intends that the company should provide other services such as home banking and access to the Internet.
About 6 per cent of Cablelink customers subscribe to premium services such as Sky Sports. Mr Kane intends to increase this take up to 30 per cent within "a few years".
According to Mr Kane, Cablelink will invest in upgrading its existing network into a "high capacity multimedia network". Once this is achieved, he said, other companies will be given access to the network to provide services such as home shopping.
Last July, Telecom increased its stake in Cablelink from 60 per cent to 75 per cent. The move prompted a review by the European Commission which was worried that the move might be anti competitive.
Although the Commission may recommend that Telecom sell some or all of its stake in the company, Mr Kane believes that the rapid development of the company by Telecom is "a better solution for Ireland".