Ireland calls for blazing fast minimum Internet speeds of 30Mpbs

GlobalPost

Want faster Internet? You might consider immigrating to Ireland.

On Thursday, the Irish Times reported that Irish Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte unveiled an ambitious national broadband plan, which aims to deliver a minimum of 30 millions of bits per second (Mbps) for everyone in the country.

The plan also indicates that a blazing fast 70 to 100 Mbps should be available to at least 50 percent of the nation, and at least 40 Mbps for 20 percent. 

Read more from GlobalPost: UK pledges speediest broadband Internet service in EU by 2015

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has committed to providing state funding of EU 200 million, and private companies will match the investment, the Irish Times added.

Ireland's big investment in fast Internet for all mirrors the attitude of the European Union, which appears sternly committed to making exceptionally fast speeds available for essentially everyone. 

Last month, the UK pledged that it would provide the fastest Broadband service in the EU by 2015. 

The rest of the EU wants to follow suit, reports Arstechnica.com. The European Union's Digital Commission is pushing all member states to provide a minimum of 30 Mbps for everyone by 2020. 

How does the USA compare? Not so well. The US National Broadband Plan, released in 2010, calls for a mere 4 Mpbs cap for all US citizens by 2020, with 100 Mpbs service to 100 million homes by 2020, says ArsTechnica. 

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