Sir, - As a long-time Internet user, I found interesting reading in the Communications supplement (December 16th). Almost all of the page which dealt with the Internet reflected what is the prevailing view in Ireland: that Internet access is an intermittent thing, to be turned on when there's a need to send an email or look up a web-page, and turned off immediately afterwards.
I can assure you this is not the way to really understand the usefulness of the Internet. It comes into its own when it's permanently available at a reasonable price. Using it to look up a web-page, etc. is then convenient rather than a chore. Those of us who have internet access at work will know what I mean.
Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the web, said in an interview with the UK's Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications : "It (intermittent-access) is forcing the new technology to operate in the mode of the old technology". It's quite surprising to note how many of the Internet service providers and other bodies in the industry are taking the intermittent-access point of view.
It is also surprising that Telecom Eireann is now making the right moves. It has announced that its forthcoming ADSL service is intended to provide "always-on" Internet for home users. It remains to be seen how affordable this service will be. But still, it's good to see an old dog learning new tricks! - Yours, etc., Justin Mason,
Bow Street, Dublin 7.