The Irish Ministry for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has established a Euro2.45m research programme for the development of mobile data services.

The programme, supported by Enterprise Ireland, brings together 23 Irish telecommunications firms with researchers from the Telecommunications, Software & Systems Group at Waterford IT.

In a statement Minister Michael Martin said: “Irish consumers and business have embraced the opportunities and benefits of mobile phone technology, now we must look to the future. What is exciting about this research is that it will focus on the new emerging IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem) technology.”

Martin added that the aim of the research is to develop “when you want, where you want it” type services.

“This technology will present us with new opportunities for all mobile devices. Not only will it further transform how we view television, the internet and emails but it will also present opportunities to enhance our enterprise economy,” he said, adding: “This work has a timeframe of 30 months. It will assess what future services are required in the Irish market as well as examining the development and delivery of such services.”