Minister Ryan launches public forum on broadband

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan launched a half-day public forum on next generation broadband.

The Forum is being held as part of an in-depth public consultation process on the provision of next generation broadband in Ireland. The consultation process itself is using the principles of deliberative democracy and innovative social networking tools to ensure that the policy-making is open to all and will yield the best results.

The Forum is bringing together 5 sectors with an interest in Ireland’s broadband policy. These are:

- user groups

- representatives from the telecommunications sector and business

- digital companies including the computer and broadcasting sector

- public service representatives and ComReg

- members of the technology and computing media

Representatives from each of these groups will sit in roundtable format allowing users and policymakers to openly interact with company executives and the regulatory authorities. This is the first time the Government has ever used such a method of interactive public consultation.

An online community has been set up on www.ammado.com to allow members of the public and interested parties to interact on the issues of how best we deliver the next generation of broadband and to identify the issues involved. The Minister has also begun a thread on the online discussion group on www.boards.ie to include those interested in technology and broadband questions in the public consultation. These are already creating lively discussions and contributions, which will inform Government policy.

Opening the Forum Minister Ryan said, “Our current economic difficulties underscore the necessity to bring together our brightest and best to act in all our interests.

Broadband is a critical piece of State infrastructure that will enable our economic progress into the future. The ESRI predicts that 70% of our exports by 2025 will be in digitally-traded services. Developing a knowledge economy is a clear Government priority. Broadband holds the key to our economic future.

The key principles of the Government’s paper on next generation broadband are collaboration, competition and open access. This Forum embodies all these principles.

It is only though working together, driving our performance competitively and allowing our decisions and our infrastructure to be accessed by all that we can forge ahead.

We are using web 2.0 tools to bring competitors and stakeholders together to contribute to the discussions. This is a new type of public consultation and I hope it proves successful.