Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2004
79 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which the Government has co-invested with Eircom and a company (details supplied) in the provision of DSL broadband and the ESB national fibre wrap project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31204/04]
View answerA number of private sector broadband infrastructure projects were co-funded under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The ESB fibre wrap project consisted of the creation of a 1,300 kilometre optic fibre trunk network along the main electricity transmission grid, using the cables to carry the fibre. The network extends in two loops, the southern loop serving counties Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Wicklow, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Offaly and Tipperary, while the northern loop passes through Clare, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Meath and also extends as far as Buncrana in County Donegal. The total eligible expenditure on the fibre wrap project was €45,913,609, and the grant paid was €14,878,582.
Esat BT completed a number of projects under the previous National Development Plan 1994-1999, including the rollout of national and urban fibre networks and the construction of a high capacity digital corridor linking Dublin, Athlone, Galway and Shannon, serving 30 locations en route. Total investment in these projects amounted to €27,880,000 and grant funding was €9,229,973. Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, the company upgraded its digital link from Cork to Clonakilty and enabled 40 telephone exchanges for delivery of broadband by digital subscriber lines, DSL, at a total cost of €14,287,848. The grant paid was €4,109,114.
The grant agreement with Eircom provided for upgrades to telephone exchanges for the provision of DSL services. Some 14 exchanges were enabled, at a total eligible expenditure of €3,694,502. The grant paid was €1,369,772. All of these projects were completed in 2003.
80 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the degree to which it is intended to combine wireless and fixed line broadband facilities throughout the country; the anticipated deadlines in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31198/04]
View answerBroadband is the term used for a high speed always-on connection to the Internet, and is generally used to describe data speeds of at least ten times the rate available using the dial-up connection over standard telephone lines. Broadband can be delivered via a number of different technologies, including digital subscriber lines, DSL, coaxial cable, fibre optic cable, fixed wireless and satellite links. The broadband speeds available are lowest with DSL, while optic fibre offers virtually unlimited bandwidth.
There are now upwards of 105,000 broadband subscribers in Ireland. DSL is the most widely used broadband delivery system in Ireland, with over 83% of broadband customers using this technology. In areas where DSL cannot be delivered, for reasons of line quality or distance from the telephone exchange, other technologies, such as fixed wireless or satellite, offer subscribers a means of obtaining broadband.
The use of different technologies by the market is determined by local circumstances, geography, commercial criteria and customer needs. Up to early 2003 the market had been slow to invest in broadband infrastructure, and in response to the infrastructure deficit my Department put in place the regional broadband programme, under which an indicative €200 million of Government and ERDF funding is being invested in high speed high capacity fibre trunk networks that enable the provision of services by the private sector.
The creation of high-capacity backbone infrastructure and metropolitan area networks, MANs, are the cornerstones of the programme. Nineteen MANs have now been completed, and seven more are under construction. In the next phase of the MANs programme broadband networks will be rolled out in over 90 towns of 1,500 population and more. The MANs are being managed for the State on an open-access basis, and offer private sector telecommunications providers access to services at bandwidths and prices on a par with the best available in Europe.
The increasing availability of broadband can be seen from the fact that all telecommunications companies are now vigorously marketing broadband in all areas, using technologies such as DSL, satellite, wireless and cable. The number of broadband customers is growing by more than 30% per quarter, and has increased 80-fold in the past year. I am satisfied that the conditions are in place to see this rate of progress sustained through 2005.
