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Dublin (pte026/27.06.2003/17:23) - Trailing far behind other countries, Ireland has finally decided to introduce a flat rate Internet access system, as announced by the BBC today. Up to now, surfers have had to pay by the minute.
Irish company UTV http://www.utvinternet.com will be the first in the country to launch a flat rate service. Clients can now chose from among two options: 30 hours of unlimited surfing for 9.99 euros or 180 hours for 24.95 euros.
Under pressure from Internet activists and the Irish government, Ireland's well-established telecoms firm Eircom http://www.eircom.ie will also soon be offering flat rates for Irish providers, as well as preparing to launch its own service and other unlimited access offers.
David Long, head of the Lobby Ireland Office http://www.irelandoffline.org told the BBC there were still serious problems concerning the accessibility of broadband in Ireland, and his organization intended to promote this technology. Ireland has 1,100 long distance offices, but only 95 of them are equipped for fast Internet access.
Only one per cent of Irish households have broadband access, putting Ireland at last place in Europe. Only 30 per cent of Irish Internet users log on via modem compared to an average 37 per cent in the rest of the union.
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