A list of companies seeking new telecoms licences which will allow them to transmit voice and Internet services to customers' premises without using Telecom Eireann's local network is to be published today.
The Director of Telecommunication Regulation, Ms Etain Doyle, will award eight so-called wireless, local loop licences.
Lunchtime today is the closing date for applications and a significant amount of interest is expected. The licences are regarded as providing a cost-efficient way to provide telecommunication services because they involve a radio based alternative which is cheaper than copper or optic fibre cable.
Broadnet, a subsidiary of the giant US telecommunications company, Comcast, disclosed yesterday that it was one of the companies submitting an application. Esat Telecom, Telecom Eireann and Ocean also confirmed they had applied for licences.
The other companies likely to apply for licences are MCI Worldcom, Cablelink and Irish Multichannel.
Mr Robert Condon, chief executive of Broadnet, said the company intended to invest about $100 million in a wireless service over a three- to five-year period.
He said Broadnet's initiative was the first move into the Republic's telecommunications market by Comcast. Broadnet's service would be available in 21 counties in the Republic and could be operational within a year.
Ocean said it would offer its services in more than 13 counties initially and would specifically target the small and medium enterprise sector.
Mr Denis O'Brien, the chairman of Esat Telecom, described the local loop licences as the "last piece of the jigsaw" in relation to Esat's network. "We already have an extensive local, national and international wholly fibre optic network in place," he said.
He added that if Esat gained a licence it could provide voice and Internet services at much greater speeds than currently available through copper wire, including ISDN. Four licences are being offered for broadband services and another four for narrowband.
Broadband caters for the needs of medium to large users of telecommunications services and enables services such as Internet access and multi-media.
Narrowband is an alternative to copper, which at present connects the majority of residential and business customers to their local exchanges, and will offer mainly basic telephony, Internet and ISDN connections.
The term of all licences will be 10 years and the winners are expected to be announced by Ms Doyle in July.
She has established a steering group to assist in the evaluation of applications and management of the selection process.
Andersen Management International of Copenhagen has also been appointed to assist in the competition.
