The current slow roll-out of broadband will put Irish exporters at a serious disadvantage over trading partners for the next five years, according to the Irish Exporters Association today.
The IEA today published a new report on broadband - Barriers to E-business development in the regions - which said that take-up of the telecoms product in the Republic of Ireland was 7th lowest in the 30 OECD countries.
The report says that to reach the average of the country's key trading partners over the next three years it is estimated that well over 700,000 new DSL lines will have to be installed.
'At Eircom's current roll-out rate of 6,000 DSL lines per month, it will take over five years to reach the current OECD average,' the report said.
'However, these countries are continuing to roll out DSL rapidly. Hence, Ireland will remain a laggard in broadband usage for the foreseeable future and deprive many Irish SMEs of a valuable cost effective export channel,' it added.
The IEA said it believes that it is essential that new entrants to the marketplace such as Smart Telecom are facilitated in accessing the local loop national structure. 'Competition is the key to ensuring businesses can negotiate best rates', it said.
