Regions fall behind in broadband rollout

A new survey of small and medium sized businesses by O2 Ireland suggests the emergence of a digital divide in the use of broadband services.

Just over a third (34%) of businesses surveyed use broadband while two thirds (66%) do not.

52% of businesses in Dublin have broadband but this falls to 20% in Connacht/Ulster, 26% in the rest of Leinster and 29% in Munster.

"These findings suggest a worrying scenario which was recently highlighted in the Forfás broadband benchmarking study," said Paul Whelan, chief financial officer, O2 Ireland.

"In terms of broadband roll out, not only is Ireland falling behind as a nation, but the rest of the country is falling behind Dublin in terms of roll out and usage."

The O2 survey also showed that broadband usage in the home was quite low, with only 31% of Dublin owner managers having broadband at home. This falls to 20% in Connacht/Ulster and Munster and just 17% in the rest of Leinster.

For those who enquired about broadband access, almost one in three (30%) found it was not available.

The O2 survey was conducted by research company, TNS mrbi, and covered 300 owner managers/directors in small and medium sized businesses nationwide in November 2004.