A €65 million national broadband scheme that will deliver high speed Internet access to 19 key towns across the country was announced today.
The 19 towns involved in the project are: Athlone, Ballina, Carlow, Carrick-on-Shannon, Clonmel, Cork, Dungarvan, Galway, Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), Kilkenny, Letterkenny, Manorhamilton, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Roscommon, Shannon/Limerick, Tullamore, Waterford, Wexford.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Dermot Ahern, uveiled the programme, which will see over 50,000-fibre-kilometres of Internet cable laid throughout Ireland over the next two years.
The project will be 90 per cent grant-aided by the Government under the National Development Plan and the rest of the funding will come from the European Union under the Regional Development Fund.
The first rollout got under way in Cork city today at the National Software Centre at a cost of €11 million.
Speaking at the launch Mr Ahern said: "A modern, high-speed, low-cost communications and broadband network is an essential enabler of economic activity and social inclusion."
