Survey shows rural broadband use lags behind urban areas

Broadband uptake in rural Ireland continues to lag behind use ofthe technology in urban areas, new research shows.

The latest State of the Net survey describes the northwest asIreland's "broadband blackspot", with adoption levels up to fivetimes lower than in Dublin. The survey is produced quarterly byonline consultancy AMAS for the Irish Internet Association.

The highest broadband concentrations were in urban centres suchas Dublin, Cork city and Galway city. The survey shows that DunLaoghaire /Rathdown has the highest broadband penetration levels atalmost 40 per cent, followed by south Dublin (35.8 per cent) andFingal (34.6 per cent).

Leitrim has the lowest broadband uptake at just 7.8 per cent,followed by Cavan (9.1 per cent), Roscommon (9.3 per cent) andDonegal (9.8 per cent).

Wexford bucks the trend on the east coast, with a low broadbanduptake of 10 per cent.

Broadband uptake in the State is 12.5 per cent, compared to anOECD average of 16.9 per cent.

AMAS managing director Aileen O'Toole said broadband usage ratesraised serious issues for competitiveness.

"While broadband subscriptions are growing quarter to quarter,this masks the reality that there are significant parts of thecountry where broadband penetration levels are exceptionally low,"she said, adding that broadband usage was a serious issue for Irishcompetitiveness.

However, the survey noted that the cost of broadband in Irelandwas falling, with Ireland ranking fifth among EU-15 states - with anaverage monthly cost of [euro]22.58.

AMAS has published a colour-coded map illustrating the divergencein broadband use across the State on the basis of data of compiledas part of the 2006 census.

The survey found that Irish broadband speeds were among thelowest among the OECD member states. The speed of 3mb per second putIreland in 23rd place among the 30 OECD countries, significantlybehind the two leading countries, Japan and Korea, where internetusers enjoy speeds of 100mb per second.

Fergal O'Byrne, chief of the Irish Internet Association, said"affordable, high-speed broadband" should be recognised as a basicright. "We regard it as a utility service like water andelectricity."