Ireland to make high-speed broadband a legal right

Ireland is moving to make high-speed broadband a legal, universal right, according to the country’s Communications Minister Denis Naughten. Beginning in 2017, Ireland’s National Broadband Plan will update the county’s 40-year-old universal service obligation, currently for telephone service, to include broadband Internet service with 30 Mbps minimum speeds.

“We need to put the infrastructure in place first. But a legal right to high-speed broadband is the outcry and it needs to be done,” Minister Naughten said. “We want to ensure people have access to broadband as a right. Having a [universal service obligation] is critical, just like electricity, broadband should be a right and I want it as an enforceable right.”

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Ireland to make access to high-speed broadband a legal right (Silicon Republic, June 2, 2016)