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Telecommunications Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 October 2011

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Questions (92, 93)

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

92 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which the telecommunications system is now reliant on wire, wireless or satellite systems; the degree to which fibre optics is an integral part of the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30427/11]

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Written answers

The telecommunications market in Ireland, including the provision of telecommunications infrastructure, has been fully liberalised since 1999 and since then, has been regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation (ComReg) and its predecessor, the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation. ComReg gathers data from telecommunications data service providers and publishes data reports in an aggregated form where appropriate on a quarterly basis to meet confidentiality requirements http://www.comreg.ie/. The most recent report, for the second quarter of 2011, reports on electronic communications connection types by reference to Internet connections. There were 1,662,471 Internet connections at the end of June 2011. Fixed wire connections, including both narrowband and broadband connections, were 762,851 or 46% of all connections, followed by mobile connections at 583,755 or 35%, cable connections at 228,595 or 14%, fixed wireless connections of 78,299 or 5% followed by others, which includes both fibre and satellite connections at 8,971 or approximately to 0.5% of all Internet connections. The ComReg report does not distinguish between fibre and satellite connections. Fibre optic would also contribute a significant element within core telecommunications networks and reaching out to the level of backhaul services. However, the ComReg reports do not quantify the contribution by fibre optic or other technologies within communications networks.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

93 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has studied the quality, coverage and capability of telecommunication systems throughout Europe with a view to replication here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30428/11]

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The latest OECD broadband data up to June 2010 ranked Ireland 13th of 19 EU states surveyed for fixed line broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants and third of 18 EU states surveyed for wireless broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants. However, such surveys are confined to retail services only. They do not measure customised electronic services provided over leased lines or Ethernet services provided to businesses under negotiated terms, nor do they consider service availability outside the largest city served by the service providers examined. A wider report on broadband services in 72 countries published in 2010 by the University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo in Spain concluded that the broadband services currently available in Ireland are capable of meeting the requirements of today's broadband applications and overall, in terms of broadband quality and penetration, ranks Ireland 13th of the 72 countries studied.

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