THE NUMBER of broadband connections in Ireland contracted in the year to June last, according to new data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Ireland had 20.3 fixed-line broadband connections per 100 inhabitants at the end of June 2010, compared to 21.3 in June 2009.

This compares to an average of 24.2 for the 31 nations surveyed by the OECD and 37.8 for the Netherlands, the top-ranked nation.

The OECD figures contrast with data released last month by the European Commission, which suggests penetration stood at 22.9 per cent last July, up from 22.2 per cent at the start of the year.

For the first time the OECD has included wireless broadband subscriptions in its survey. Including mobile handsets with data plans, Ireland has 47.9 per cent penetration, placing the country sixth in the league table. South Korea was highest ranked for wireless connections, with 95 per cent of the population having a wireless internet connection.

The average monthly subscription price in Ireland is $31.33 (€23.64), which makes it the fourth cheapest market in the OECD, behind Britain ($30.80), Italy ($29.91) and Greece ($27.72).

However, Ireland had the second slowest average broadband speeds at just over 6MBits/sec, based on a sample of 37 services offered here. Only Mexico had slower speeds, with an average of 2.5Mbits/sec.

Following the release of the data, Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said “the access element of the broadband equation is close to being solved” and said the focus must now move on to “to speeds and next generation networks”.

Mr Ryan is due to announce details of a rural broadband scheme that will bring a basic service to areas of the country that cannot currently get broadband. Details of the scheme may be included in today’s Budget.