Every primary and secondary school in the country will have broadband internet access by March of next year, as the rollout of a €30 million Government scheme reaches completion, it was announced yesterday.
In a joint press statement updating progress on the schools broadband access programme (SBAP), Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin and Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey said providers of the service would be installing the necessary equipment in schools over the course of the coming school year.
This will continue until March and will include all primary and post-primary schools. Some 841 schools will have fixed-line access and 1,507 will have wireless access. A further 1,577 will use satellite technology to access the service.
However, the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) yesterday warned that the rollout of broadband, while welcome, would be of little benefit unless hardware in schools was updated.
"We need to invest in providing enough good-quality computers. A lot of the computer stock in schools is very old," John Carr, general secretary of the INTO, said.
"There is also a need for ongoing training for teachers."
The SBAP is being funded in partnership with industry and follows the establishment of an €18 million three-year joint Government-telecommunications industry fund targeted at the provision of connectivity to schools.
This connectivity will be moderated through a national schools network, providing security and content-filtering.
Schools will also have access to a national service desk, established to assist and advise them.
The overall cost of the SBAP programme, including the contribution from industry, is estimated at €30 million over the next three years.
Seven broadband providers were selected earlier this year to provide the service to 3,925 schools.
It subsequently emerged that Eircom failed to win any of the State broadband contracts and had been outbid by several rivals.