Broadband improvements to be explored

A new advisory group has been set up to look at how Ireland's broadband infrastructure can be improved in the coming years.

The International Advisory Forum on Next Generation Broadband Networks will look at how Ireland can get faster broadband speeds at lower costs.

The group brings together a number of people with expertise in the telecommunication and Information Technology sectors.

The forum will meet in Dublin at the end of the month to advise the Government on how best to progress with the development of next generation broadband in Ireland.

Among the issues they will consider are whether the State should fund next generation technologies; if fixed line or wireless connections offer the best options; and if the private sector should be charged with rolling out the network.

Recent OECD statistics on average advertised maximum speeds in member states placed Ireland third from the bottom on a league table, with just over 3 megabits per second, compared with 92 Mbit/s in Japan and 44 Mbit/s in France.

Only Mexico and Turkey had slower services than those available in Ireland.