High speed internet plan ‘a disaster’

The National Broadband Scheme is a disaster area, according to a leading lobby group.

The €80m project was supposed to ensure everyone had access to high-speed internet. Consumers availing of the scheme are supposed to receive a minimal speed of 2.3Mbps but some rural areas have speeds as low as an unusable 0.2Mbps — while others cannot get broadband at all.

It also emerged Irish customers are paying up to five times more for mobile calls than the cheapest EU rate.