Regulators approved an Irish state aid of 170 million euros ($203 million), which was aimed at improving broadband Internet access in the country, an AFP report said.
The report said that according to the EU's executive commission, Ireland was lagging behind the EU's 15 other member-states in broadband access.
The Irish government was building fiber-optic, broadband networks in more than 120 towns where services were not provided by existing firms, the report said.
"The open networks will enable all operators to offer high-speed broadband services to businesses and citizens in the towns concerned," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, quoted by AFP, said.