Irish favouring mobile internet over broadband

Cash-strapped households are giving up their fixed broadband faster than most other EU citizens, instead favouring accessing the internet on their smartphones.

The cost of broadband is considered high in Ireland, with the cheapest package still around €31.40 a month compared to €10.30 in Lithuania, with prices adjusted for purchasing power parity.

The EU study shows a price difference of up to 400% across the EU, strengthening demands for a single market for internet.

Getting good, reasonably priced internet is a geographic lottery, according to Neelie Kroes, the vice-president of the European Commission. “There is no good reason why a person in one EU country should pay four times more for broadband than those in another country”

More Irish than any other nationality say they study and compare price comparisons for bundles that include television and internet service. As a result, up to half have switched services at least once and said they found it easy to do, with price, followed by download speeds, the deciding factor.

About a quarter of all homes in Ireland still have no internet access. The number of households with broadband has fallen 5% over the past two years, while the numbers using the internet through their mobiles has increased.

Across the EU, the numbers signing up for broadband has stopped growing for the first time in a decade.