Eircom says network among best in Europe, despite consultants' criticism

Eircom has disagreed with consultants who have expressed concerns about the availability of the State's telecommunications infrastructure for high-technology companies, especially in the west.

The concerns, expressed in reports to Government, cover the availability of high-speed fibreoptic communications which are required by modern industries such as computer manufacturing and software.

According to the Fitzpatrick & Associates report, Development Strategies 2000 to 2006, "advanced broadband services such as ATM, commonly available in most developed countries, are only recently available here".

It says availability is limited and indicates on a map that there are virtually no high-speed 2.5 gigabyte systems north-west of a line from Galway to Athlone to Monaghan.

The State's telecommunications infrastructure is also criticised in the report of the Western Development Commission this month, and the ESRI's report in March, National Spending Priorities 2000 to 2006. The ESRI says broadband communications may be the one area of telecommunications infrastructure in which the State should invest, because of "market failure" to do so. However, Eircom, which as Telecom Eireann installed a fibreoptic network across the State, says its network is "among the best in Europe and can facilitate any technology company which wants to set up anywhere".

A spokesman said that while there were areas without 2.5-gigabyte systems, this could be changed quickly "and it is not true to say the capacity is not there". He said that if a demand was established, a new system could be installed on the existing fibre-optic network, which would support any type of high-tech industry.

The company was to be congratulated on installing fibre-optic cable in areas where there was as yet no demand. The capability was there and the deployment of such facilities would be "normal start-up time", he said. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Western Development Commission, Mr Liam Scollan, said the debate on infrastructure in the west had reinforced the point the commission made to Government that it was vital that major ESB programmes were completed without delay. "I know that there are sensitive environmental issues, and, of course, they are important, but we have to find the right balance," he said.