The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources set aside €80 million for the construction of 27 phase 1 MANs in 2003. The success of the phase 1 of the MANs led to a second phase, with funding of €80 million earmarked for the phase 2 MANs. These will be built in over 90 towns with a population in excess of 1,500 people that had no existing DSL broadband. The phase 2 MANs are expected to be completed during 2006 and 2007.In the Shannon Region the towns/city that qualified for funding in phase 1 and 2 are
Phase 1:
Limerick City
Phase 2:
Nenagh,Roscrea, Templemore, Birr, Banagher, Newcastle West, Abbeyfeale, Kilrush
The Managed Services Entity
The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has developed a consistent national framework for the operation of the MANs being built across the country. All operation, maintenance and marketing of the completed networks will be handled by a Managed Services Entity (MSE).Following a comprehensive tendering process by the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources, e-net was selected as the Managed Service Entity (MSE) for the State's regional broadband infrastructure.e-net holds this concession to manage, maintain and operate Metropolitan Area Networks on behalf of the Irish Government for a period of 15 years. To find our more about e-net click here