The Minister for Communications is considering eight new principles announced by the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF), which the industry group thinks should govern the rollout of next-generation networks (NGNs) in Ireland.
The principles were published today and have been agreed by 21 telecom service providers in Ireland.
They are the principles of: consumer choice; equal access; competitive price and quality; corporate social responsibility; support for the national economic strategy; investment, research and innovation; appropriate regulatory context; and industrial leadership.
Under each heading, TIF broadly outlines what the stakeholders need to achieve for Ireland to deliver successful NGNs.
“The guidelines presented to me today will assist in informing the move towards NGNs in Ireland,” commented Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD.
“My department will shortly publish a policy paper on NGN for public consultation, which will give the public and industry alike the opportunity to put forward their views on the roll out of a high-speed and cost-effective broadband service.
“These guidelines are a very useful first step in this process of discussion. There is a clear demand for a quality broadband service in this country and I am confident we are now in a position to succeed in its delivery.”
Irish telecoms providers are currently investing €700m a year in developing their networks.
“NGNs have the potential to deliver a completely new experience to customers by enabling them to integrate and move seamlessly between all of their communications services – voice, mobile, high-speed broadband and TV,” commented John McKeon of Eircom, chairman of the TIF Broadband NGN industry group.
“By setting out a shared vision of how all service providers can work together, with appropriate support from the public sector, these principles can help make this potential a reality.”
Members of the TIF include Aurora Telecom, BT Ireland, Cable and Wireless, Clearwire Broadband, Colt Telecom Ireland, Commergy, Data electronics Group, Digiweb, E-net, Eircom, ESB Telecoms, Hutchison 3G Ireland, Irish Broadband, Magnet Networks, Meteor, O2, Perlico, Premier Data Centres, Smart Telecom, Surecom NS, UPC Ireland and Vodafone.
By Niall Byrne
