2. Broadband
Ireland continues to be shy of the EU average for broadband penetration, following a few years of intensive growth when the gap narrowed considerably. Newly released EU stats show that the broadband rate per capita in Ireland stood at 20.2% in January 2009, compared with the EU27 average of 22.9%. Mapped against our European neighbours, Ireland has been moving out of the “low penetration, strong growth” quadrant. However, it has some distance to go to earn its place in high penetration quadrants, where mature online markets such as Denmark and Netherlands nudge ever closer to the 40% penetration levels. Growth levels in broadband in Ireland have been slowing down, as our second chart (ComReg data) shows. The most recent quarterly figures show total subscriptions of 1.27 million, an increase of 6% on the previous quarter and an impressive year-on-year growth of 28.2%. Mobile broadband continues to be the big story, accounting for 354,000 broadband subscriptions. Mobile phones and the popularity of dongles for business and personal use have driven demand. This represents a 91% year-on-year increase and a 15% increase from the previous quarter.
Sources: EU comparison: Progress Report on the Single European Electronic Communications Market 2008 (14th report)
Source: ComReg Quarterly Key Data Report, June 2009. Green line shows all platforms, with the exception of mobile, while the orange line includes mobile broadband
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