Sidenote to Brian.....I did a little more digging on the Ireland question and found this;
IDA Ireland signs deal with Global Crossing
IDA Ireland recently co-signed a deal, which will mean increased
broadband connectivity for Ireland, available at more competitive
prices, from an increased number of providers. The following brief
extract from IDA's eCommerce brochure outlines the main points
of this deal.
The development of Ireland as a significant centre for
eBusiness/commerce is a key part of Ireland's industrial strategy
over the next decade. Therefore whilst Ireland already provides
extensive access to global telecommunication links, the
Government and the private sector have embarked on a very
ambitious program of international connectivity enhancement. On
the 5th July, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern signed a supply agreement
with Global Crossing for the provision of an Internet-ready
superhighway for Ireland.
This agreement provides for an initial 25Gbit/s of enhanced
connectivity, which is fully upgradeable to 279Gbit/s. The landing
in Ireland of 12 twinned pairs of fibre provides, in reality, almost
unlimited broadband capacity to Europe, the USA and Asia. The
arrival of AC1* and AC2* will provide Ireland with access to a
state-of-art IP/WDM# network. This will, by summer 2000, provide
a seamless city-to-city service to 15 European centres including
London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan, Zurich and
New York. In quarter 1, 2001 this service will be extended to a
further 9 cities and provide access to all the major business
centres in the World.
The provision of this enhanced connectivity will also include the
development of an Irish Telehouse, in Ireland's first National Digital
Park in Citywest, which will provide for access and co-location on
an open and equal basis.
* Atlantic Crossing 1 & 2: Global Crossing's transatlantic fibre
cables.
# Internet Protocol/Wave Division Multiplexing: IP is the standard
which provides for transport of information across dissimilar
networks. WDM is the technology which allows the capacity of
existing fibre optic cable to be upgraded.
Also some stats on the Irish economy which should bode very well for GBLX profitability going forward........
Economy
Ireland has experienced five straight years of stunning economic performance and today is a world leader in a number of aspects in this area. No other OECD member country has been able to match its outstanding outcomes in a variety of dimensions. Output growth has averaged over 9% per year on a GDP basis in the period 1994-1998. Half of that growth has been reflected in considerable employment gains and the rest in impressive labour productivity growth. There have been substantial increases in the labour force, thanks to Ireland's particularly favourable demographics and to an important reversal in migration flows. Unemployment has fallen by nearly 9 percentage points to 6.4%. Consumer Price Inflation has remained below 2% over the past year, despite the economic boom. (Source: OECD Economic Surveys - Ireland, June 1999)
Country Real GDP Growth 1998 1999 Projections
Ireland 10.4% 7.5%
UK 2.1% 0.7%
France 3.2% 2.3%
Germany 2.8% 1.7%
Neths 3.8% 2.2%
Spain 3.8% 3.3%
Portugal 3.9% 3.1%
USA 3.9% 3.6%
Japan -2.8% -0.9%
Source: OECD Economic Outlook, June 1999
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