Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 January 2013
613. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding the unreliable broadband service by 3 mobile in the Portmagee and greater Portmagee area in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1975/13]
View answerThe provision of electronic communications services is, in the first instance, a matter for private sector service providers operating in Ireland’s fully liberalised telecommunications market, regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). Broadband services are provided by a number of private service providers over various platforms including DSL (i.e. over telephone lines), fixed wireless, mobile, cable, fibre and satellite. Details of broadband services available on a county-by-county basis can be found on ComReg’s website at www.callcosts.ie.
The State only becomes involved in the provision of services in instances of clear market failure, such as in the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). My Department entered into a contract in late 2008 with Hutchison 3G Ireland Ltd (“3”) for the delivery of the NBS. The Scheme offers a basic broadband service, in line with EU State aid clearance, to fixed residences and businesses located within certain designated rural areas. The area of Portmagee was excluded from the NBS as it was deemed, at the time of the comprehensive mapping exercise carried out prior to the launch of the Scheme, to be already served by at least one private operator. The NBS is prohibited, under EU State Aids rules, from providing a service in served areas where to do so would give rise to an unacceptable level of market distortion.
You refer to the provision of broadband services in Portmagee and the surrounding area by “3 mobile”. Since this service provision is by “3”, in its private operator capacity, I do not have a role in relation to the level of service provided to its customers. However, should customers be experiencing service performance problems, they are advised, in the first instance, to contact their service provider to seek resolution. In cases where customers have exhausted the service provider’s complaint handling procedures, they can contact ComReg, by phone at 1890 229 668, online at http://www.askcomreg.ie/ or by email Consumerline@comreg.ie, for further assistance and guidance.
With basic broadband services widely available across Ireland, the focus is now on accelerating the roll out of high speed services. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August last, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU’s target date of 2020, and that significantly higher speeds are available to as many homes and businesses as possible. During the preparation of the National Broadband Plan, the commercial market operators indicated that they expect to provide 70Mbps to 100Mbps services to 50% of the population by 2015. The areas to be provided with those services will be determined by the commercial market operators.
One of the first steps in delivering on the commitments in the National Broadband Plan will be the completion of a formal national mapping exercise to determine the exact position in relation to commercial service providers’ existing and planned broadband services throughout the country. It will also identify where the market is expected to succeed and fail in the delivery of high speed broadband over the coming years. Until that process is complete, the precise areas of the country which will require State intervention will not be known. I would reiterate however, that the Government remains committed to the delivery of the speeds referred to above, to ensure that all parts of Ireland, including areas such as Portmagee, in County Kerry, will have at least 30Mbps connectivity.
