The Government must proceed “without delay” on the National Broadband Plan (NBP), according to business group Ibec, as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he expects the contract to be signed “this autumn”.

David McRedmond, who was the commercial director at Eir almost 15 years ago when the telecoms firm was called Eircom, is to return to the company as its non-executive chairman.

The contracts for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) will be signed by September and the Government will spend €400m to get 100% coverage nationally, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.

A quarter of Cork’s footprint has yet to be built and the next 20 years will bring the biggest change to city and county since independence.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten will not review the crisis-ridden national broadband plan despite committing to “absolutely” consider a Dáil vote calling for an assessment of the project.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten will not review the crisis-ridden national broadband plan despite committing to “absolutely” consider a Dáil vote calling for an assessment of the project.

The decision by Eir to pull out of the procurement process for the rollout of rural broadband was described by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) as extremely concerning.

The Government has vowed to drive ahead with the embattled national broadband plan despite concerns about value for money and calls for the State to take control of the strategy.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten has played down fears for the future of the national broadband plan after one of the last two companies competing for the contract pulled out of the bidding process.

The challenges facing the faltering national broadband plan (NBP) have been exacerbated by a report highlighting how costs in Ireland are among the highest in the EU despite much poorer speeds.

The National Broadband Plan is at least 10 to 12 years away from completion, given all the obstacles that must be overcome to implement it, a broadband expert has warned.

The boss of Eir says the telecoms firm remains committed to playing its part in introducing the national broadband plan, despite fears it has stalled.

Virgin Media, the internet and TV provider, has claimed too much “red-tape” is holding up the roll out of rural broadband.

Ireland’s national broadband plan is as vital to the country “as electricity in the 1940s and the telephone in the 1970s” and needs to be finalised urgently, it has been claimed.

A Cork IT company has come to the rescue of 3,000 homes in rural counties by providing high-speed broadband, as the Government comes under fire from opposition politicians for failing to connect the regions with its broadband policy.

The cost of rolling out broadband across the State could cost the Government well over €1bn — considerably more than currently anticipated, an expert has claimed.

Broadband provider SIRO is to invest €40m in the rollout of high-speed broadband to six more towns in the coming months.

The decision by the Government to extend the National Broadband Plan to an additional 170,000 premises will not significantly increase the cost of the scheme, the department responsible has claimed.

The largest broadband intervention yet by the State could run into legal difficulty and face significant delays. The Government’s National Broadband Plan which intends to deliver high-speed broadband to 750,000 homes and businesses by 2020 is expected to cost up to €500m to implement.

DATA storage service provider Cork Internet eXchange (CIX) has just launched CloudCIX, a new communications infrastructure geared towards SMEs in the Munster region.

Enet, the company which holds the concession to manage, maintain and operate the State’s Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) across 93 cities and towns, has warmly welcomed the call by Forfás in their broadband benchmarking report to have the MANs in Cork and Waterford expanded.

BUSINESS communities in Cork and Waterford need more expansive high-speed broadband networks, according to a leading industry expert.

The Green Party's Eamon Ryan has slammed the Government's record on broadband provision claiming that up to €200m has been wasted on failed fiber optic projects.

Eoin O’Driscoll has been appointed non-executive chairman of diversified services and infrastructure group SWS.