National Broadband Plan launched by Rabbitte

The government is pledging to roll out high speed broadband to every home and business around the country by 2015.

The National Broadband Plan was launched today and commits to providing at least 30 megabytes per second download capacity.

The project will require an investment of €350m with the State and service providers sharing the costs.

The Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte says a high speed service nationwide is now as important as rural electrification: "I think there is an understanding now about the necessity to get the finger out to facilitate investment and to improve the quality of broadband

"These are ambitious targets but they are targets that have the endorsement of the entire government."