How did this all come about?

The prospect of a no-deal Brexit has led to a spike in interest from UK residents looking to relocate to West Cork, according to a leading property expert.

Enet has said it remains committed to the National Broadband Plan project despite one of the consortium’s major players dropping out of the process. Enet is the only bidder for the plan.

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.

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.

There are growing concerns that the Government’s National Broadband Plan could be derailed as one of the leading bidders dropped out of the race.

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.

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.

Some of the towns with the slowest broadband speeds in Ireland will soon have connectivity to rival international hubs such Tokyo and Hong Kong, according to the company installing fibre optic cable in rural areas.

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.

Vodafone Ireland attributed a near 2% rise in revenue last year to improvements in its mobile and fixed-line business, despite a significant number of mobile customers leaving the network over the final quarter.

Ireland’s first rural digital hub in Skibbereen, Co Cork, is looking for innovative startups to express an interest in a €300,000 seed capital fund.

The ESB's profit after tax increased by 33% in 2015 to €286m, €71m higher than the previous year.

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.

Vodafone will today begin the rollout of LightSpeed Broadband, its new high-speed fibre broadband that will boast a minimum speed of 350 megabits.

The country’s chief digital expert has admitted that Government departments and bodies need to earn public trust, so that people can engage with public services online with the same ease as in the commercial world.

Work has begun to deliver the country’s fastest-ever broadband to a Co Cork town in a reversal of the digital divide between Dublin and regional towns.

Ratheniska has played host to the ploughing, and yesterday EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan said the village would now be on a par with Hong Kong and Tokyo after the announcement that it would have super speed broadband.

The EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has announced a new broadband pilot scheme for Ratheniska in Co Laois - the site of the Ploughing Championships.

Ratheniska in Co Laois is to benefit from a rural broadband pilot programme.

Ireland’s first rural digital hub could help create up to 500 jobs in West Cork over the next five years.

More jobs are being created outside the Dublin region as the economic recovery broadens and finally spells an ending to the two-tier economy, according to two surveys published today.

Up to 60 jobs and a further 200 in construction have been announced in the building of a new high-speed broadband network around the country.

Marc Wilmots is Belgium’s unlikely hero, a player unlikely to feature in the lists of those predicting potential World Cup stars but one who perhaps ought not be ignored.