Sir - In the last few weeks British Telecom, NTL, Alta Vista and others have all announced either free, or fixed charge access to the internet - for those living in the UK. Elsewhere, fixed rate access on a monthly basis is already available for £19 sterling (USA),£23.40 (Japan) and £31.60 (Germany).
And Eircom? Well they have announced a 20 per cent increase in off-peak local call charges - neatly packaged in ad-speak as "1p per minute". Thus, what used to cost 12.5p for 15 minutes will now cost 15p. The fattening of the cash cow that is local call charges continues unabated and unchecked.
So, what of Minister Mary O'Rourke's much trumpeted wish to make Ireland a hub of e-commerce? Well, it's further away than it ever was, isn't it? - Yours, etc.,
Denis Mortell, Liberty Lane, Dublin 8.