Mobile phone group O2 will enter the Irish broadband market, offering a service that is significantly faster than current fixed-line products. The new broadband services will provide wireless internet access at speeds of up to 3.6Mbits/sec and users can download up to 10GBytes of data a month.
Earlier this year Vodafone and 3 Ireland introduced similar services. All three operators are providing broadband based on High Speed Downlink Packet Access, an upgrade to 3G networks which significantly increases download speeds. Vodafone's service operates at speeds of up to 1.4MBits/sec while 3 Ireland's service works at 3.6MBits/sec.
An advantage of these services over fixed line broadband is that users can move location while continuing to access the internet.
O2 Broadband will initially be available to 75 per cent of the population. The company is also rolling out an Edge network, a software upgrade to older networks which provides data speeds that are between four and five times faster than existing 2G data technology.
The service will cost €30 a month for existing O2 bill-pay customers and €40 per month for other users. During a three-month introductory period, pricing will be €15 and €20 respectively. The USB modem required to connect to a PC or notebook computer will retail for €69.
