Ireland: Minister Smyth Launches Consultation On International Connectivity For Telecommunications
Minister of State for the Environment, Climate and Communications, with responsibility for Communications, Ossian Smyth, is launching a consultation on international connectivity for telecommunications. The consultation opens on Friday, 31 May, and will remain open until 19 July. The purpose of this consultation is to invite all interested parties to contribute their views on the status of international connectivity for telecommunications in Ireland.
Submarine fibre optic cables, or subsea cables, are among the most important components of the internet’s infrastructure. Subsea cables connect the domestic terrestrial fibre network to cloud services and data resources around the world. The more robust the connection between the user and the data resource, the faster, better and more productive the user experience. Many industry applications depend critically on reliable, fast broadband internet and international bandwidth, including financial trading, e-commerce, and cloud computing, which is increasingly leveraged by various industries. Broadband internet is also playing an increasingly key role in education, health care and agriculture.
Improvements in digital connectivity contribute to faster economic growth – creating more jobs, improving access to public services and expanding markets. Two key infrastructure elements underpin a country’s digital connectivity: the international connectivity network; and the domestic connectivity network.
Welcoming the consultation, Minister Smyth said:
“As we have seen from the events during the pandemic, the world has had to evolve to meet the challenges of remote and hybrid working and businesses have had no other option other than to digitally transform. Ireland critically relies on international bandwidth from subsea cables for its economic development. As technology develops, phenomena such as streaming, gaming, machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), big data, and autonomous vehicles will only increase the demand on bandwidth. These communication solutions are enabled by having high quality subsea digital connectivity, so I welcome the consultation and stakeholder engagement which aims to enhance our internet capacity and resilience.”
Ireland is pursuing a strategy to be a ‘Gateway to Europe’ for subsea telecommunications cables. In realising this ambition, the State will become a key international connectivity hub between North America and Europe – a policy position which the government is now actively advocating.
The government strategy will ensure increased capacity to meet the demand for digital and data services into the future, as well as increased diversity in subsea telecommunications cable routes to ensure network resilience and safeguard international connectivity in the event of a route failure.
In the context of security of critical infrastructure in Europe, the landing station diversity offered by Ireland is particularly advantageous because the cable routes come from multiple directions, thereby minimising the risk of simultaneous failure.
