Robert Troy
Question:57. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the unavailability of broadband in the Newtowncashel, County Longford. [54713/12]
View answerWednesday, 5 December 2012
Questions (57)
Written answers
Since market liberalisation in 1999, broadband services are delivered in the first instance through private sector operators. The State only becomes involved in the provision of services in instances of clear market failure. The National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the more recent Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) are examples of such interventions.
Prior to the launch of the NBS my Department had a full national mapping exercise carried out to determine precisely where the gaps in service provision existed. As a result Newtowncashel was one of the areas in the country that was excluded from the scheme as it was deemed to be already served by at least one private operator. Under the RBS my Department received a total of 81 applications from County Longford with a total of 17 applicants taking up an offer of service from one of the commercial operators participating in the scheme.
The recently published National Broadband Plan (NBP) commits industry and the Government to rolling out high speed broadband throughout the country in the next few years. The plan contains specific and ambitious targets, most of which are expected to be delivered by the private sector. The Government is committed to ensuring that high speed broadband will also be available in rural areas which might not be deemed commercially viable by the private sector to invest in. My Department expects to commence a national mapping exercise in early 2013 aimed at identifying precisely the areas of the country that the private sector will invest in and those rural parts that will require State intervention to ensure that our NBP and Digital Agenda for Europe targets are fully met.