Ireland lags behind in broadband race

The number of Irish Internet users with broadband access is falling further behind the rest of the world, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

The report said that while the government itself promised to roll out high-speed Internet connection across the country, it had so far failed to meet its own objectives.

Ireland currently had 270,000 broadband subscribers, nearly 100,000 short of the target, the report said.

The report further said that the country ranked 23^rd in the latest league table published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, having less than seven people in every 100 of the population having broadband access.

The top five countries in the list included Iceland with 26 broadband users for every 100 inhabitants, and Korea, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, each with more than 23 subscribers per 100 people, the report said.

Of the 30 OECD countries, only Poland, Mexico, Turkey, Greece, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia ranked lower than Ireland in the high-speed race, the report further said.

The country was also expanding its broadband penetration much more slowly than other nations, the report added.