Affordable broadband for homes essential for Republic's well-being

Few people would insist that the Republic is a highly competitive and cost-effective location for multinational industries - at least not in the old sense, much-flogged by the IDA in the 1980s to late-1990s.

You know yesterday's spiel - cheap workforce, low cost of living, relaxing environment in which the drive to work is a quick journey across town, low cost base, cutting-edge phone system.

I know the whole roster well, having been subcontracted a few years back by a Web-design firm to take all those well-worn bullet-points and turn them into the content on the IDA's CD-Rom.

This was an interesting exercise because it gave one a boiled-down view of how a country sells itself - the keywords that a nation uses to convince the global commerce giants that its arms are open and welcoming.

Of course, some of the "facts" were a bit fluid. One could only imagine what some Japanese or US official thought, having committed to a greenfield site in Tipperary, as they were driven over what was described in the CD-Rom as our comprehensive and modern network of roads.

At the time, the Republic was treading a fine line between presenting itself as energetic, forward-thinking and capable but still a bit charmingly Olde Worlde (for those US employees with a Quiet Man view of the Republic).

Not to put too fine a point on it, the IDA wanted to imply, in a positive way, that we were just backward enough to still be inexpensive, in an Eastern Europe kind of way, while offering a Western Europe kind of lifestyle. In other words: we hadn't realised yet what a great little place this was to do business, so costs hadn't been driven frantically upwards, but the coal man in Dublin still delivered coal with a horse and cart, and little brick houses were cheap.

Most astonishing at the time was the way in which the IDA discussed the nation's workforce. Not only were the Irish relatively cheap employees but they took fewer holidays than almost anyone in Europe and they didn't go on strike all the time.

In other words, the Irish were the most placid and least compensated employees in Europe.

However, success at bringing in the multinationals and incubating indigenous companies led to prosperity, fast growth, rising costs, congested roads and employees who wanted some of the perks that came with good jobs abroad. Infrastructure, be it housing, roads or public transport, was designed for earlier times and failed to keep up with growth.

The IDA has to market the State on a new basis. And, the State in general needs to be thinking of how to keep people here - talented immigrants, skilled Irish returnees who wanted to come home after years of working abroad, graduates who will possess the skills needed tomorrow.

This is particularly true as we look forward to an expanded EU. In will come a range of Eastern European countries that can boast all of the benefits we had a decade ago - a well-educated and inexpensive workforce; low cost of living; proximity to the European market; and aggressive tax breaks.

Crucially, countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary have high-speed, broadband communication networks that far surpass ours. The Czechs can link into the backbone of the European networks on whopping 10 gigabit connections. We join up with Britain and mainland Europe via 155 megabit connections. They have a firehose; we have a sipping straw.

Such issues have been portrayed as relevant primarily to the business-readiness of the Republic. But it is also of huge relevance to people in general.

That's why, in the current climate where the State can no longer offer up the last decade's roster of competitive benefits, it needs to be thinking of redefining the very notion of competitiveness.

Competitiveness is not just the ability to offer tax breaks to the multinationals. It's the necessity of supplying an attractive work and social environment for the people who live in a country. Better public transport, a supply of reasonable housing, competitive prices for professional services, a protected environment that people can enjoy in their time off, cities that welcome walkers and cyclists without risking their lives - all are part of this broader picture. And affordable home broadband connectivity - not just cheaper transatlantic pipes for the multinationals - is an essential part of this puzzle.

If the State aims towards a high-value, knowledge economy, the living - not just working - environment must at least be the technical equal of Sydney, Boston, Amsterdam or Prague. Irish workers abroad will not be attracted back to Dublin when they drop from cable, DSL or even ISDN speeds of connectivity back to 56k modems that rarely link to the network at over 32k.

This is as much a part of an adequate home environment for the kind of worker needed here as the mix of housing availability, transport and nightlife. The capability of a state to provide affordable broadband home connectivity is already a strong feature in international surveys of competitiveness.

Broadband, and the number of homes on the Net, is seen as increasingly fundamental to the population, a signpost of opportunity, education and democratic participation.

We are among the lowest ranked of all EU member-states in this area. This issue must be prioritised and seen holistically, relevant to the general health and well-being of the State, or we continue to risk our future economic and social competitiveness.

klillington@irish-times.ie