Mr. Ger Woods:

The industry accepts there are areas where the country is not adequately served in terms of broadband. This shortfall is best served by the national broadband plan, which we have outlined extensively. I would like to focus on the positive aspects of broadband speeds. According to statistics from ComReg or the European Commission digital agenda scorecard, 44% of Irish broadband is described as getting speeds in excess of 30 Mbps, which is better than Germany, France and the UK. Across all platforms, Irish consumers have access to the most cutting-edge technologies. In fixed networks, Eircom has detailed how it is rolling out its next generation access network. In mobile, operators are rolling out their LTE, long-term evolution, networks. In cable, UPC provides speeds of up to 120 Mbps as standard and we can offer up to 200 Mbps. Eircom offers up to 100 Mbps. These speeds are on a par with or better than many European countries.