Residential and small business users in remote parts of Ireland are to be given a much-needed data lifeline following the announcement of the EUR223 million National Broadband Scheme contract between the mobile operator 3 and The Department of Communication, Energy and Natural Resources. Currently 3 is expanding its network in a program of work that's aimed at offering broadband to the 33% of Ireland's land area not yet serviced by broadband. The service will provide vital connectivity for residential and small business users and become a strong enabler of homeworking and teleworking in the regions.

Is your address covered under the National Broadband Scheme? 3's NBS coverage areas map will show you.

The NBS broadband service is expected to offer at least 1.2 Mb per second as a minimum download speed with 200 kb per second upload at launch, rising to at least 2.3 Mbps download/1.4 Mbps upload by October 2012. The contention ratio at launch will be 36:1. A small number of areas will be covered by a satellite service and different speeds and terms will apply here: a minimum download speed of 1 Mbps at launch with 128kbps upload, and a 48:1 contention ratio.