Expect a right royal battle among the cable companies when the Cablelink franchise is advertised, probably in September. A large number of players are expected to vie for the company.

The price tag will probably be in excess of £140 million and the company needs a further £120 million investment to upgrade the system. It has suffered years of under-investment some might say neglect from its current shareholders, Telecom Eireann and RTE.

The first company to throw its hat in the ring was Cable Management Ireland (CMI) which declared its interest earlier this week. Princes' Holdings is also expected to bid for it. Others tipped to express at least a healthy interest are: Esat Telecom, although it has its hands full already; WorldCom, said to be a strong possibility; and Cabletel as well as a host of other US companies.

The cable business offers real possibilities for the cliched information superhighway. As such, it is only developing and cable companies here want to develop telecommunications services, Internet, video on demand and home shopping.

However, returns are slow to come and as Mr Steve Keaveney, financial controller of CMI, put it: "You start showing a return on your money when you stop investing."

CMI and others have invested heavily in infrastructure. To date, it has invested about £28 million. Its chairman, Mr Padraig White, said this week that the company was investing £4£5 million every year upgrading the cable systems. As additional value-added services are introduced this figure will probably increase. The company's annual turnover is £7 million.

Not a business for the impatient or the faint-hearted.