Spending on information technology by small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic was flat in 2002, and three in four firms have no plans to trade online during 2003, a new survey shows.

The fourth annual 3Com report on the uptake of technology among small Irish companies shows 47 per cent of firms spent the same on technology in 2002 as they had during 2001. Almost one-third of companies said they increased technology spending in 2002, while 16 per cent said they reduced spending during the year.

During 2001, by contrast, 58 per cent of small firms said they increased spending on technology, reflecting more positive sentiment in the sector. During the same period, just 15 per cent of firms reduced their spending on IT.

Almost three-quarters of firms said they would not undertake e-commerce in 2002, while 22 per cent of companies said they were already engaged in e-commerce.

But the report concludes that small firms are becoming more aware of the advantages of new technologies and 57 per cent believe wireless offers particular benefits. However, 65 per cent of firms say they are not able to link a laptop to a wireless connection.

One-fifth of respondents to the survey said they used these types of wireless connection and 13 per cent said they did not know. In contrast, 91 per cent of firms said they operated a local area network, with 94 per cent gaining productivity from being networked.