Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment. The Minister is aware of the difficulties Eircom faces in providing infrastructure because Babcock & Brown does not have the necessary funding. The national broadband scheme he recently announced has been granted to 3 Ireland.

I would like to take issue with some of the points Eircom made at the committee last week. It was stated that it is not possible to get broadband more than 5 km from an exchange and that wireless broadband companies cannot provide the same coverage or bandwidth. That is untrue. Broadband companies can provide the same speeds as Eircom, with 2 megabyte capability in both uploading and downloading. One wireless broadband company of which I am aware can provide up to 8 megabytes for specific customers who need such download speeds for their businesses.

The difficulty faced by wireless broadband companies is the varying standard throughout the country. Many of them are set up by individuals who lack the necessary specific expertise in software to provide a service to the customer and in hardware to run the masts and provide the infrastructure to ensure the broadband works at all times. The provider must also be a businessman because funding is needed to run the company.

My sister lives one mile from the nearest exchange near Rosscarbery in west Cork and cannot get broadband while my brother can receive up to 8 megabyte speeds on the wireless broadband system. He owns the company that does it; that is how I know I am right. He can provide up to 8 megabyte broadband speeds to specific customers, with 2 megabyte speeds for all customers using the wireless broadband system. He understands the Minister's predicament but he makes clear that what is being said about wireless broadband companies is not true. They are efficiently run, have the technology and the business acumen and can provide broadband at the speeds necessary for people to enjoy broadband in rural areas. The problem is that some of the schemes that have been set up are not very well run. While I suppose the Government has little say in how they are run, it can give the impression to some people that wireless broadband does not work. The Minister should become more involved in what is happening in that sector because it could provide a solution to many of the problems currently facing broadband. There will be no easy solution, however, because the system in most major towns has been structured in such as way that it will be impossible to implement in an economically viable way for those companies wishing to use it. It is just too expensive. Eircom will not put the necessary millions into the system unless we buy it or put substantial State investment into the company. Those are the existing problems for the fixed-line broadband service.

Satellite is not an alternative because it is far too expensive. In addition, mobile phone technology for broadband is not even as powerful as wireless systems. Speakers have focused on broadband problems in rural areas and the solution lies with the wireless system. I ask the Minister to meet with people like my brother and others who run these sorts of companies. They are usually small outfits and may not interest the Minister to the same degree as the problems he would be faced with concerning Eircom. They have solutions to offer, however, and it would be worth discussing the matter with them.

Those are the main points I wished to raise. Broadband is a major issue for politicians. Public representatives are always hearing about people's unhappiness with the lack of access to broadband. Even in major towns there are problems with Eircom lines not functioning properly, as well as problems with the demand system due to the cost of access. We have broadband problems both in urban and rural areas, but they are not insurmountable if we put our minds to them. Some of the Government's strategy will work, but more effort needs to be put into it. We can get through this if we put our minds to it.