Plans for cable access to Internet telephony have taken a step forward following the instalment of a new communications system at Cable Management Ireland. The broadband installation will allow CMI offer high speed Internet and voice-over Internet protocol services on its cable TV network.

Installed by Lake Communications, the service will be available to CMI's 60,000 customers, located primarily in north Dublin and regional towns. The core of the system includes Nortel Networks routers, switches and an integral firewall. Users can be connected via high-speed cable modems, dial-up modems and ISDN.

CMI expects up to 10 per cent of its customers will be switched on to the services by the end of this year.