Is there anyone that can explain to me why the state of broadband in Ireland is so abymsal? In recent weeks I moved in to a new place that’s a stone’s throw from Dublin city centre. One of the first things I wanted to do was to get a decent internet connection for a reasonable price. As complicated as that sounds, I had hoped and nearly expected that it wouldn’t be much hassle to organise. How wrong I was.

The first obvious choice is the national telecoms provider, Eircom, but since they are intent on ripping customers off with an exaggerated line-rental fee on top of the monthly broadband charge I’ve decided to avoid them on principal. Unfortunately, the majority of other providers piggy-back on their lines so if you want another service you’ll still end up forking over the monthly line rental. The alternative, I thought, was NTL with their connection through the TV cable. Being just about a kilometer from their offices I thought they’d be on the ball but after giving them a call I found out that not only can I not get a web connection, but they can’t even provide me with cable TV.

One alternative comes in the form of those wireless router things that pick up the signal from a transmitter at the end of your street, but apart from the fact that they tend to be a load of crap, the area I’m in doesn’t pick up a good signal, rendering that option a complete waste of money.

And so I’m in a pickle, how can I possibly set up a good quality internet connection at home without having to pay disgracefully inflated rates? Any suggestions? I’ll be in the pub.