Broadband failure

The privatisation of Eircom just 15 years ago was one of the most disastrous public policy decisions in the history of the State.

It ranks with the bank guarantee, especially as the sell-off was avoidable whereas some mechanism had to be found to try to stabilise the banks. Though in tune with the Thatcherite zeitgeist, the floatation served neither those who invested in the company, those who lent it money or those who depended on its services.

Years later and after many changes of ownership and crippling debt, the company no longer has any public service obligations. This reality cuts very deeply with the tens of thousands of people and businesses in rural areas, and many suburban areas too, where the broadband signal is utterly inadequate — if it exists at all.

Yesterday Eircom announced it will increase the number of homes with high-speed broadband services. The standard network reaches more than 900,000 homes or businesses — though many of these struggle to secure a worthwhile signal. Good broadband is one of the defining metrics of a community’s viability, of an individual’s ability to be part of the modern, self-sustaining world. Far too many communities and far too many individuals, many just kilometres from large urban centres, are still without this essential service.