The broadband market is continuing to gear up following last week's acquisition of Perlico by mobile operator Vodafone for up to €80 million.

Smart Telecom will this week begin a major pushback into the consumer market, while 3PlayPlus, a new player with up to €45 million in funding, will launch services in Dublin.

Smart retained about 15,000 residential customers following Eircom's move in October 2006 to cut off 40,000 Smart telephone customers in a dispute over payments. The company has subsequently been refinanced in a deal led by Brendan Murtagh of Kingspan and has installed a new management team.

"That was a long time ago", said Smart's chief operations officer Pio Murtagh when asked if the Smart brand had been damaged by past events.

"The people who continued with us will give testimony to the quality of our products, particularly our broadband."

Smart is hoping to woo new customers with a range of offers that include free service for a period of customers' contracts.

The move comes in advance of Smart's launch of an internet television service next January.

The new player 3PlayPlus is also hoping to win over customers with a "triple play" offering of telephone, internet and television which it is selling under the HomeVision brand.

The company is backed by PlanNet 21 Communications, a telecoms and network equipment provider which has been in business for 12 years.

PlanNet 21 and its directors have backed 3PlayPlus to the tune of €5 million to date, but marketing director Paul Byrne said another €40 million from "external investors" was available to be drawn down as the company executes its business plan.

HomeVision will initially be available from nine telephone exchanges in the Dublin area: Clondalkin, Coolock, Clontarf, Whitehall, Tallaght, Santry, Crown Alley, Dolphin's Barn and Summerhill.

Mr Byrne said the service would be rolled out to other parts of Dublin and other major urban centres in 2008.