By Narayan Bhat
TMCnet Contributor
Irish telecommunication firm Imagine Communications Group is set to roll out the first national 4G WiMax network in Europe, which the carrier says will help it offer faster Internet speeds and better phone services at low price.
Allied with Intel (News – Alert) and Motorola to build the network, Imagine says 100 million Euro investment in new 4G technology will get Ireland a world-class broadband and phone network.
The announcement from Imagine comes barely a week after OECD –– an international organization helping governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges – ranked Ireland at the bottom of the European league table on broadband speeds.
Ireland’s over-reliance on the outmoded and over-exploited 3G network has reportedly led to its lowly position on the OECD broadband chart. Interestingly, OECD regulators had even refused to classify 3G as broadband.
Imagine’s Commercial Director Mr. Brian O’Donohoe has said the rapid deployment of the superfast 4G WiMax network will shoot Ireland up the European broadband league table.
“This week’s OECD statistics show that Ireland has dropped to 29th position for broadband speeds, after being placed 26th in September 2008,” Mr. O’Donohoe said. “The new 4G WiMax network is faster and more reliable than 3G, has no expensive line rental charges like DSL and is available at half the cost of older technology providers like Eircom (News – Alert)”.
“The Irish Government, Comreg and the existing market players have been hopelessly inadequate in preparing Ireland for future technologies and the damning OECD report has created a significant opportunity for 4G WiMax in Ireland,” said Mr. O’Donohoe.
WiMax is backed worldwide by Intel, Motorola, Time Warner, Google (News – Alert) and many other major multinationals.
The new technology, according to Imagine, is already allowing it to make high speed broadband available and affordable to businesses and consumers in counties like Dublin, Wexford, Kildare, Sligo, Louth, Westmeath and Longford, with 30 new locations now being rolled out each month.
Imagine hopes to rapidly sign up more customers because its biggest competitor in Ireland, Eircom, has the highest line rental fees in Europe.
Narayan Bhat is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Narayan’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Erin Harrison
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