Ireland is lagging behind its European neighbours in broadband penetration, ranking 12th out of 15 states.
A report by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, the association of alternative telecoms operators in Europe, found that Ireland is ahead only of Italy, Portugal and Greece.
The report says Ireland experienced the third highest growth in uptake in the region at 17%, but these figures include figures for mobile broadband, which would not be considered for official OECD figures.
ECTA says one in five people in Europe now have a broadband service.
In its report, which covered June, July and August of last year, the ECTA says that the retail market share controlled by established telecommunication industry remains high at close to 50%.
But it predicts this could move up to 80% of broadband lines across Europe or even close to 100% in many countries.
It says this is because of a serious threat to the primary source of competition, local loop unbundling, as incumbents seek a halt to unbundling next generation fibre access lines.
