Skip to main content
Normal View

Broadband Services Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 March 2013

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Questions (364)

Ciara Conway

Question:

364. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the definition of an acceptable broadband speed under the national broadband scheme; the recourse open to householders dissatisfied with the coverage offered by the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15293/13]

View answer

Written answers

The broadband service contracted under National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is a basic, affordable, scalable product in keeping with EU State Aid clearance for the Scheme. Under the terms of the contract which my Department has in place with “3”, the NBS service provider, the NBS mobile wireless service currently offers minimum download and upload speeds of 2.3 Mbps and 1.4 Mbps respectively, subject to a maximum contention ratio of 18:1. The NBS satellite service, which is utilised in a small number of cases for technical reasons associated with the location of the premises, offers minimum download and upload speeds of 3.6 Mbps and 384 kbps respectively, subject to a maximum contention ratio of 48:1.

As regards service quality, my Department has well-established monitoring arrangements in place to ensure that the NBS delivers the minimum specified service or better to all users. The NBS contract guarantees service levels and imposes a service credit regime on “3” with financial consequences in the event that minimum specification service levels are not met. The NBS contract also provides that where NBS customers do not receive the minimum guaranteed service as set out in the terms and conditions of their contract, they are entitled to service rebates.

Any NBS customer experiencing problems with the NBS service can contact 3’s customer care centre 24 hours a day 7 days a week by phone at 1913 (free of charge) or by email to nbssupport@three.ie. Additionally, a team of field engineers has been established to address NBS specific maintenance issues at customer’s premises.

My Department has a role when customers have fully utilised the established complaints process. It operates a dedicated NBS mailbox, which NBS customers can contact by email at nationalbroadbandscheme@dcenr.gov.ie with any comments or complaints they may have about their NBS service. My officials liaise very closely with “3” to ensure that any issues relating to service performance, which are brought to their attention, are addressed as quickly as possible.

With basic broadband services widely available across Ireland, the focus is now on accelerating the roll out of high speed services. The Government, through the National Broadband Plan, which I published on 30th August last year, has recognised that the key imperative now is to ensure high speed broadband availability to all.

The Plan commits to high speed broadband availability across the country by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30 Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU’s target date of 2020.

Ireland is now therefore moving to a new phase of public and private sector investment in broadband in Ireland which will see significantly improved speeds delivered across the country. The National Broadband Plan commits the Government to investing in areas where high speed services are not commercially viable and will not be provided by the market.

This will ensure that citizens and businesses, wherever they are located, have a broadband connection which meets their needs to interact effectively with society and business in a digital environment.

I would reiterate that the Government remains committed to ensuring that all parts of Ireland will have at least 30 Mbps connectivity, through public or private sector investment, as outlined in the National Broadband Plan.

Top
Share