The provision of effective broadband coverage does not necessarily guarantee increased productivity in services businesses, research suggests.
A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute states that “mixed evidence” exists over the impact high-quality broadband can have on output.
Ireland is in the seventh year of the National Broadband Plan, the state’s €1.5 billion scheme to expand the provision of up-to-date internet coverage to 540,000 rural homes and businesses.
However, the process has been a controversial and extended one, with Denis Naughten, the former communications minister, resigning late last year after it emerged that he had held 18 meetings with the chairman of the last remaining bidder for the contract.
Previous research had suggested, using regional or national data, that large increases in productivity