#audiomo-16: The Pride of the National Broadband Plan and A Response from Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

The National Broadband plan is proud that it is more ambitious than the targets set by the EU for broadband provision in Ireland. I worry that such pride is misplaced. It's one thing to say you plan to deliver more than someone else; actually doing it is another thing entirely. It smacks of political posturing to emphasize the ambition of a plan, especially one that falls short of what other countries are achieving and brings inequality to its citizens to boot. In an emailed response from Pat Rabbitte, the relevant minister in Ireland, he stresses that the plan seeks to achieve a step change in broadband delivery, rather than bring the entire country up to the quickest speeds currently available. I wonder, will those speeds be enough in 2020 - the EU's deadline for availability of 30Mbps for everyone in the union? Won't things have moved on by then? Won't 30Mbps be running behind the times?