Issue 69    
30th September 2002

 

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Ireland lags behind in Internet Infrastructure

A recent report by the global telecommunications body affiliated to the E.U, the International Telecommunications Unit (ITU) ranked Ireland 30th of 206 countries in a Mobile/Internet Index which was based on 26 indicators of infrastructure developments, usage and market structure. At face value this may appear a reasonable rating however it is the lowest ranking of all EU countries. Worse still, the Internet usage penetration is measured at just 23%, which is far below the findings of previous studies. From our own professional experience and anecdotal evidence, the findings seem to lean on the lower side of reality however no doubt it reveals a fundamental truth - we are lagging behind!

The report reveals a numbrer of unpalatable facts and these include;

  • A huge variance in costs; 90 minutes of mobile phonecalls costs almost a dollar a minute; with call costs at €84 in Ireland, compared to about a third of this in the UK and the US, where the equivelent call costs amount to approx. €39.
  • We're all aware of the issues relating to Broadband access but this survey helps to put the Irish dilema into an international context. Broadband coverage in Ireland is measured at .01%; the equivelent access ratios in the U.S. is 4.49% and in Canada it's 9.45%.
Here, many of the issues raised by the report are under the remit of Office of the Director of Telecommunications (ODTR), under the stewardship of Etain Doyle "….we are not as advanced or as need or would wish to be in terms of internet usage and adoption of internet technologies" she said. The issue of licencing is central to our current situation and licencing commitments have been under some scrutiny by industry observers and participators alike. This report, compounded by industry issues relating to realistic investment and profitability goals for suppliers, along with consumer frustration with high costs and limited availability of high-speed access, will continue to fuel the debate on the terms of licencing offered by the ODTR.

In the meantime, independent benchmarking by organisations like the ITU, will help to inform the business community.

To purchase the full report, use this link
www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/sales/mobileinternet/

However a free Summary is available here www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/sales/mobileinternet/exec_summary.html