What broadband do we need? What’s our ambition? What’s our vision of what sort of broadband system we are going to need? And I want to give a few comments, my own thoughts, best current thinking as it says in the introduction in ‘The Agenda’. And best current thinking is first of all, at the moment we’re thinking about our economy. I’ve just come from cabinet and it’s been an interesting day, been an interesting week, and I think actually this is the area where our economic future will be determined. This is the area where we have a real opportunity to deliver an economy for Ireland as an island which has, for the last fifty years, taken a course of openness, of willingness to trade in the world, of confidence around our skills in marketing, in banking, in finance, in telling stories; and I think that this network we’re going to build is our sale system, is our sales network to the wider world and is the guarantor, I believe, of our economy in the next fifty years. It is the crucial piece of infrastructure to help us achieve that economy. And I believe we are well placed, despite current difficulties in financial markets and so on; I am absolutely confident that we as a people are perfectly placed, globally, to be one of the world leaders in how we adapt to using this new technology, this new network. And I do so because I have a certain sense that our characteristics fit in well with the nature of the network. It’s an open network. It’s one which is openly democratic and we are a democratic flexible country and it’s one that will benefit those countries that can be flexible and that can collaborate which is the nature of how such networks work best. And in today’s exercise, remember its being the change you want to be, we are deliberately going online and using some of the social networking techniques, deliberately using a form here whereas said it is open source policy making; where it is open to ideas and concepts and innovative suggestions. So, that collaboration, I think we can do well as a country; that collaboration, I believe, is the one that will deliver for people looking to invest in networks as part of this infrastructure, because I believe it is through collaboration, that we can take advantage of it and become the best in the world in flexible use of such networks that makes economic return from those who have to invest; and our concern as policy makers is to try to make sure that there is that economic investment return. It is a crucial aspect of what people here; some will be saying we have to be absolutely ambitious; we have to make sure we do this by a certain time. It will be right for the wiser heads maybe who know about some of the investment decisions that there are around that to say ‘well, hold on a sec here, that has to make economic sense for us to do it. And I think actually collaboration between different network providers, between different industries, that have an interest in this subject, is what will deliver success. And we deliberately brought here today some from the digital applications industry, telecom industries, users, public service policy makers, politicians. It’s that collaboration between all those users that can guarantee our economic success. I believe that at the same time as the collaborative approach, that competition is also a very useful mechanism for us getting a better network, cheaper, faster, and more flexible. We are already seeing that, in the last year the numbers, roughly, came from less than half a million to over a million. That’s a rapid change; rapid improvement in progress. So there’s a strange combination I see, of collaboration and competition, that can deliver us a network we need.
Just to go back to the first question; what do we need? What are the characteristics of the broadband we want? I think first of all, it was taken in Japan and their policy assessment that ubiquity was important and what does that mean? It means we have to cover the whole country, it means we leave no one behind, it means that you can get, I believe, easy access to the network from a whole range of different devices; and on that device, on those different devices, you can use a whole range of different applications. It means that it should be easy for me to get to my work place, from home, or from the bus, or even from the bike. It means that we need these new devices so that the block we have at the moment in terms of how many computers we have in our homes, 70% of us have computers, already hitting the limits if we’re just measuring broadband in terms of how many houses have got it; we’ve changed the nature of the connectivity so the ubiquity actually means it’s more widely and fully available. I think that goes back to the collaborative issue that we need networks that are more open access networks across a range of different platforms so we’re flexible, so that’s where we have our competitive advantage possibly as a country. It’s difficult, because we’re democratic, for us to re-enter into running fibre into apartments, but maybe we as a country, with a very good competitive environment as I see it, between mobile, cable, satellite, fixed line and other providers, maybe we can be best if it’s a flexible use of a combination of those that makes it easier for Irish people to use networks here. We will need speeds; speeds are important, crucially important. I’ve always said that what we need to do is to make sure that speed availability is ahead of the demand, and that demand is lumpy, it can jump up if I-Player takes off. But that should be our aim. But the speed, as I said, that relates then to how to get the investment system in place to allow put to hypo speeds. I believe it comes from a series of digital applications, one small application on top of another making business case. No one application being the kidder application, each of them adding to the investment ubiquity around people have to invest in that. I’m going to finish with that but those are the questions surrounding the nature; what sort of speed? What sort of access? What sort of ubiquity? What sort of technologies, do we think are going to be vital? That I think is going to be our first subject for discussion around tables that we have in front of us. The outcome today, I’m looking forward to, the polling, the video recording of it, but more than anything else it’s here in backroom facilitators of the tables and hopefully just people themselves getting ideas, getting informed, so that most of the people in this room have an interest in this area. If we all go away with a better understanding of where our competitive advantage lies, where our future economic development lies, then that I think will be a huge benefit to us as a country and you should start with the first question, which is: “What broadband do we need?”, and work out the details down below from there. Thank you.