That increased demand with forecasts for evergreater demand for bandwidth, has led Eircom to step up plans to invest Euro60m in so-called "next generation networks" that will allow even greater bandwidth speeds. In order to compete with higherspeed offers of up to 25Mbps expected from cable companies NTL and Chorus, Eircom says it has no choice but to move quickly.

Investment from Eircom in its network may please consumers, even if broadband is still late in coming for many Irish homes, but the move has left Eircom competitors angry. ALTO, a pressure group representing many of Eircom's competitors including BT Ireland and Magnet, says that the move by Eircom to the new, supercharged network will re-create a natural monopoly and reward Eircom for dragging its feet for many years in opening up its exchanges to competitors.

The process, so-called local loop unbundling (LLU), is meant to allow Eircom competitors to install their own equipment in Eircom-owned exchanges. Critics said Eircom intransigence on LLU contributed to the downfall of Smart Telecom and have harmed other competitors.

Because the new highspeed networks bypass the exchanges altogether, this would mean that all of the investment by other operators to install equipment into the Eircom exchanges will have gone to waste. Eircom, meanwhile, would suddenly be sitting on potentially lucrative property assets in the exchanges, which could fetch a tidy profit.

A debate on the subject is scheduled for this Tuesday at 6pm in the Westbury Hotel.

This Thursday Eircom executive chairman Pierre Danon will be among the speakers at a ComReg event on the same topic.