Ireland improves broadband quality

Ireland has continued to improve the quality of its broadband services, ranking ahead of the UK, US and Germany, according to a new global survey.

Ireland ranked 13th out of 72 countries included in the study, tied with Finland and rising from 14th in 2009. Top of the list was South Korea. The UK and Germany placed 18th in the table, while the US and France both ranked 15th.

In terms of mobile broadband, the country is in 22nd place in terms of service quality.

The study, carried out by Saïd Business School in Oxford University and commissioned by Cisco, evaluated broadband quality in 72 countries and 239 cities around the world. The quality of broadband services was evaluated through a series of tests measuring download throughput, upload throughput, and latency capabilities of a connection.

According to the study, download speed in Ireland has improved 35 per cent in the past year, and 87 per cent since 2008.

Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said the improvement in broadband quality was a reflection of the Government's progressive broadband policy.

"In the last two years, Ireland has seen a spike in broadband improvement, bringing to an end the legacy of underinvestment of the early 2000s," he said.

"We are among the top European countries for broadband leadership, ahead of France, Germany, Spain and the UK and we must build on this. Service providers here are already beginning to deliver the 100 megabit connections in 2010 that Europe is seeking for 2020. On access, we are two years ahead of the EU's target for nationwide availability, with the National Broadband Scheme nearing completion."

However, the study found more work is needed to ensure that the networks here can cope with future applications. It said that one in five countries were prepared for future applications to support smart to support smart, connected communities. Ireland was not among them.

“Ireland is rated as a country whose network is ‘meeting the needs of today’s applications’,” said Cisco Ireland’s managing director Kim Majerus.

“This means they are OK for today but they are not among the 14 countries who are “ready for the applications of tomorrow.”

Overall, global broadband quality improved by 24 per cent year on year.

More than half of the countries – 53 per cent - conquered the quality divide, meaning there were less obvious differences in between the broadband quality inside and outside main cities.