Vol. 397 No. 9
22 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Communications the cost to the West of Ireland householder of availing of the proposed MMDS television system; the estimated number of houses to be serviced under the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The west of Ireland will be served by three separate operators — roughly speaking, Donegal and Sligo will be serviced by Cable Management Ireland Limited; Galway and Mayo Cablelink, and Kerry and Clare by MDS Limited of Limerick.
The cost of service on the basis of the approved franchises will be in the region of £100 to £125 for installation (which includes all the necessary hardware) and a similar amount for annual rental. There may be some variation in charge from franchise to franchise reflecting the differing costs of servicing each different area.
My objective in introducing MMDS is to bring real multi-channel choice to all parts of the country outside areas with access to cable television. Operators will seek to provide service to all houses in their respective franchise areas. I expect that up to 70 per cent coverage will be achieved from the primary transmitters and that this will be increased towards complete coverage over a three to five year timescale.
