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More than four years after Ennis became the Information Age Town, Internet use is thriving in the Clare town, which has also begun trials of new DSL technology.
Last week it was announced that 100 Ennis homes on the Limerick Road and Tulla Road are to receive VDSL connections, free of charge, for a six-month period. Eircom, which has already invested over EUR19 million in the Ennis Information Age project over four years, is providing the service.
The service provided is called VDSL (very fast digital subscriber line), a next generation Internet connection technology that is capable of much higher bandwidths than ADSL. The test involves the placing of a VDSL modem box on an existing telephone line which links to the fibre optic ring already installed in Ennis. The new trial will complement the existing ADSL trials that have been ongoing in Ennis for around three years.
Eircom meanwhile will use the trial to research overall volumes of traffic and patterns of usage of the technology.
The latest news out of Ennis comes after years of investment and development of the community's infrastructure by the government and businesses. Near the end of 2001 it was revealed that eight out of ten residents in Ennis each clock up almost 15 hours per month surfing the Internet compared with nine hours for the United States and just 4.5 hours for the average person in Ireland.
With around 20,000 citizens, 75 percent of Ennis homes now have a computer, 80 percent higher than in Dublin.
According to a report compiled by Behaviour & Attitudes Marketing Research, Ennis residents spend on average 8.25 hours using their PC every week. Other figures from that report show that over 60 percent of the city's population can send e-mail and surf the Internet, while 42 percent can install a programme or application on their PC.
"It has been an outstanding success," proclaimed Michael Byrne, chief executive officer of the Ennis Information Age Project. "We didn't exactly know what to expect from the project. That was one of the questions we asked four years ago, 'What would happen if we gave out all of these computers and connected them to the Internet?'" Byrne told ElectricNews.Net.
"I can say that it really has changed some of the people's lives here. It has fundamentally changed their attitudes toward technology; they have become discerning technology users who understand how things work and how to get the most out of the Internet and other technologies," he explained.
Byrne went on to say that although Eircom's role in the project is now coming to an end, after four years immersed in high technology Ennis has become a hub for other projects. The town is participating in two EU-funded projects ODIN and COIN. Ennis will be testing ground for ODIN which is exploring the uses mobile location-based technology.
Meanwhile COIN is examining ways to use technology to increase accessibility of museums, libraries, historical centres and cultural and heritage focused facilities.
Byrne concluded by pointing out that the project has had the effect of enhancing business and educational possibilities in Ennis. But many of the lessons of Ennis have not been exploited on a national level, Byrne claimed. "There is a lot we can teach businesses and other towns in Ireland about what works and what doesn't."
For more information visit http://www.ennis.ie
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