Ireland announces new National Broadband plan with minimum 30Mbps services

Ireland's Communications Minister, Pat Rabbitte, recently outlined a new National Broadband Plan that promises up to 100Mbps for urban dwellers and a minimum of 30-40Mbps for everyone else.

According to Minister Rabbitte, Ireland's new broadband plan will provide speeds of 70Mbps to 100Mbps for half the population, who are concentrated in the urban and suburban areas. This applies to both residential and commercial users.

Another 20 % of the country will get at least 40Mbps. The rest of Ireland -even it's most remotest area- will be entitled to a minimum of 30Mbps.

Ireland is doing its part for the Digital Agenda for Europe, an ambitious broadband program by the European Union. EU member states are expected to publish national broadband plans by the end of 2012; to ensure that all their citizens receive at least 30Mbps of service by 2020; and to bring speeds of 100Mbps to half of the households in the union before 2020 ends.

A good example would be Finland. In 2009, the Scandinavian country made known its plan to ensure a minimum service of 1Mbps by 2010, which in five years would be upgraded to 100Mbps.

In comparison, the United States' National Broadband Plan was released in 2010 and aims for a minimum of 4Mbps for all Americans, a minimum that has yet to be reached.

The Irish government expressed its readiness to spend €175 million ($219 million) in creating broadband infrastructure for rural areas as part of its new National Broadband Plan. The government also clarified that it is not going to purchase Internet access for people. Instead, it will merely ensure that Irishmen across the country will have access to at least the minimum required by the Digital Agenda for Europe by setting up the appropriate fiber optic, wireless, and satellite broadband networks.