Broadband is growing quickly in Ireland as more and more businesses and users realise the attractions of the technology and competition intensifies between DSL and wireless providers.
The latest product in this theatre of battle is Metro from Digiweb, who described the product as “the first and only alternative last-mile access network to compete with the copper local loop for voice and data services”.
Digiweb said Metro technology addresses what has been missing in Ireland to date – genuine telecommunications platform competition.
Entry-level retail packages on the new network offer 3Mbps broadband with a full telephony service, free line rental, free voice calls to other Digiweb customers, and in excess of 50 per cent savings on calls to most other locations, for just €35 per month ex VAT; with the option of a second phone line and phone number for €5 per month
According to the most recent report into the Irish communications market from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), broadband subscriptions rose by 170 per cent from the second quarter of 2004 to the same period this year, reaching a total of 175,500.
The report also found that subscriptions to wireless broadband had risen by 313 per cent over the same period to 18,000, overtaking cable in the process. The increase from the first quarter to 2005 to the second quarter was 44 per cent and wireless now accounts for 10 per cent of all broadband subscriptions – DSL has dropped slightly from 88 per cent to 80 per cent of the overall figure.
However, a recent IDC survey found only small numbers of Irish businesses used wireless broadband for web access in 2005 – a total of four per cent – and the overall trend was unlikely to be much higher for 2006 (up to seven per cent). But it was strong in business services, where 15 per cent expected to be using wireless broadband by next year.
The survey also found the number of companies using wireless broadband would increase from five per cent to 11 per cent next year in the 1-49 employees bracket and from two to seven per cent in the 50-99 employees section.
Whatever their differences, the findings from ComReg and IDC suggest wireless broadband is beginning to gain some traction in the Irish broadband market where companies like DigiWeb and Irish Broadband at the forefront of the attack.
Orla Duffy, head of marketing at Irish Broadband, claimed the company had seen a “huge growth rate in our customer base”.
Wireless broadband appealed to all sizes of business, she argued. Small companies and residential users were attracted to wireless because it provided them with broadband without the line rental cost that all DSL packages included. It had the same upload and download speeds and could also let businesses use VoIP without a landline.
She argued a lot of businesses were also interested because they didn’t want their data and phone lines to be linked. In addition, larger businesses could use it to enable teleworking. “It’s equivalent to a leased line but it’s an awful lot cheaper,” Duffy claimed.
John Quinn, head of strategic development at DigiWeb, said it was likely the broadband market would be a mix of technologies, including DSL and wireless. He revealed that DigiWeb’s client base was split 50:50 between business and residential customers.
Most business customers were in the SME and mid-sized SME space. “With Metro you get two phone lines and 3Mbps broadband for €35 plus VAT. It’s a bit of a no-brainer because it’s very cost-effective.”
Wireless technology was also as reliable as DSL. “If the technology is reliable, people don’t care how broadband gets there. If the price is right, they’re going to buy it.”
Duffy at Irish Broadband said there was a popular misconception that wireless broadband was mainly confined to areas where customers could not get DSL, but it was not true. In many cases, wireless broadband providers were competing against DSL broadband in major population centres. “We’re in urban areas because it makes business sense,” she stressed.
Brian O’Dwyer, radio spectrum engineer at ComReg, said it expected to see continued growth in wireless broadband access. “We have issued over 100 local area licences for fixed wireless access,” he revealed, “and we’re seeing the early part of the roll outs of those networks.”
But he stressed wireless broadband licences had been issued in urban areas, larger regional towns and more rural areas. “Many companies have different objectives in where they are deploying and in the customers they’re going after,” he said. “We’re seeing a broad spectrum.”
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