What are MANs?
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BROADBAND services are available to homes and businesses through an existing telephone cable, by satellite, through a cable TV line or using wireless technology which transmits via an aerial.
But Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) are networks of high-capacity fibre optic cable laid underground in towns and cities, which businesses connect directly into and allow for large amounts of data to be transmitted quickly.
They allow telecommunications companies to provide cheap, "always on", high-speed access to the internet, seen as a vital tool for industry and business to be efficient and competitive.
Educational institutes, health and research bodies, and private consumers also use the services. The Government has already spent €172m on the MANs project and 86 towns and cities now have access to a high-speed broadband.
Fifty-five of the MANs service towns with populations of fewer than 9,000. The 'Value for Money' report says MANs should be built only in urban areas with populations of more than 9,000.
