Eircom will upgrade its entry level broadband service for all its retail and wholesale customers in early April in an effort to fight off new competition from its rivals.
The upgrade to Eircom's products will double the speed at which its customers can connect to the internet to one megabyte per second, up from 512 kilobits per second. Customers will continue to pay the same €39.99 price for the broadband service.
Wholesale customers of the dominant operator Eircom, such as Esat BT, will also be offered the faster connection speed at the same wholesale prices. This should enable them to offer a new product suite in the future.
The change in Eircom's products will come into effect on 8th April 2005. The firm's other residential and business broadband products will be upgraded at the same time.
Eircom said the new products would mean that Irish customers would enjoy one of the fastest connection rates for standard entry level broadband in Europe.
Mr David McRedmond, commercial director of Eircom, said the company wanted to meet its target of supplying 500,000 people with broadband by 2007.
Eircom is facing tough opposition in the broadband market from a collection of smaller rivals promising higher connection speeds at cheaper prices.
For example Smart Telecom is offering consumers in certain areas a two megabyte broadband service, including telephone line rental, for just €35.