The Government is claiming progress in its latest campaign to make the public aware of the benefits of broadband. The promotion is set to continue until the end of the year.
The new all-island ‘Broadband Aware’ campaign, launched earlier this month by Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, promotes the benefits of broadband to consumers and businesses. It comprises four TV ads that have been running at peak times over the past three weeks.
The TV spots will continue to run during peak viewing time for the rest of the year. The ads refer to the www.broadbandaware.com website that gives information tailored to where the viewer is based. The ads are part of an all-island initiative by Minister Dempsey and his counterpart in Northern Ireland at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Maria Eagle.
In a statement released by the Department of Communications, Dempsey was quoted as saying that the campaign had been a “huge success to date”, with “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from the public and industry.
However, few facts were available to support the Minister’s contention, aside from a vague reference to “numerous users” said to have visited the campaign website. No data was given as to the amount of new broadband subscribers since the campaign began, for example.
Dempsey announced that the campaign will now run until the end of the year, following the injection of further funding by the telecoms regulator ComReg (Commission for Commuciations Regulation). The budget now stands at €733,000, which has enabled the campaign to be extended until Christmas.
The campaign is 25pc funded by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and ComReg, with the balance being provided by the EU through the INTERREG IIIa Programme. The Department has been advised by Index Creative Communications and all four adverts were produced by Tigervision.com
By Gordon Smith
