Ireland has the opportunity to lead the way in the new digital economies of the world but we’re also seriously in danger of falling behind if we don’t act now. We need to deliver a genuine, integrated Next Generation Network (NGN) across the country.
The stakes have never been higher. How a country competes in the 21st Century will be defined by the relative quality of its digital infrastructure in the same way as physical infrastructure (roads, railways, power and ports) defined the winners and losers in the 20th century. As with roads and railways, in fifty years time all countries will have ubiquitous high quality Next Generation Networks, but the countries that build them first derive the most significant long term competitive advantage.
When I talk to anyone about NGN deployment, the question always arises about who pays for it. The only way that I can answer that question is to try to pose another – who gets the biggest return from rolling out a NGN?
From an industry point of view, it’s becoming clear that the any predicted return on investment is not high enough to entice deployment. Global consumer spend on telecommunications is flat to declining whilst the level of investment required is accelerating. Clearly, there is no longer a strong business case for private NGN roll-outs. That being the case, it puts the ball back firmly in the court of the State.
So if the financial return isn’t high enough for private companies to invest, why should the State? For me, public investment makes more sense because having a world class NGN underpins all major areas of public policy:
- Health care cost can only be managed through e-healthcare initiatives such as electronic records and remote monitoring
- Education is globally becoming a web based application, already in third level and increasingly so at first and second level
- The country will only achieve its environmental targets through the deployment of smart grids and a widespread adoption of teleworking
- Real public sector reform can only take place electronically and almost certainly “in the cloud”
- In terms of economic development the more widely available the NGN infrastructure the more likely Ireland will be able to meet the needs of the next century’s big employers. Similarly it is in the smart and creative use of communications technology that we will be able to develop and grow new and indigenous Irish industry.
I’m convinced that there will be those countries, on one hand, that seize the opportunity to develop their infrastructures, embrace the new possibilities and use them to grow their economies and nurture social benefits. On the other hand, there will be those countries that run from the problem, choose to ignore the current communications revolution and be left with aging networks quickly heading towards economic obsolescence.
