Nevada Tele.com, a Belfast-based 50/50 joint venture between Viridian and British group Energis, has applied to access Eircom's local telecoms network.
The company plans to offer consumers a range of high-speed internet, voice and data services by following a process known as "unbundling the local loop". This enables firms to install their own telecoms equipment in exchanges and access the last part of an incumbent's network.
Nevada will invest €6 million (£4.7 million) in a fibre optic network in Dublin to carry telecoms traffic and supply these services to its customers, according to Mr Les Harris, chief executive of Nevada.
"We have entered the formal process with Eircom and will seek line sharing and unbundling in six Dublin exchanges," he said. "We'd like to do that in the first quarter of 2002."
Nevada is only the second telecoms operator to seek access to Eircom's network following the withdrawal of several firms from an industry committee on unbundling this year.
Nevada's participation in the unbundling process would be a significant boost for competition in the domestic market following the downturn in the market.
Mr Harris said one of the major reasons Nevada applied for unbundling was that it would overcome delays in the delivery of private circuits by Eircom.
"We can wait months and months for circuits from Eircom," he said.
Nevada, which plans to set up a number of internet-hosting centres in the regions, is also considering seeking unbundling outside of Dublin.
"We plan to replicate this (Dublin plan) across the country and we are looking carefully at Cork, Limerick and Galway," said Mr Harris.
Nevada will invest a further €11 million in fibre in these areas if it decides to go ahead with its regional plans.
The ESB's fibre optic network, currently being rolled out across the State, may provide suitable fibre for Nevada's purposes. Nevada may also install €2 million of digital subscriber line technology in telecoms exchanges to offer high-speed internet services to homes and firms.
Mr Harris is hopeful Nevada will be able to offer its customers the bitsream high-speed internet service, which Eircom plans to introduce next month.
