Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 October 2013
432. Deputy Ann Phelan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will outline in detail the exact amount of broadband penetration in the south east and at what speed, in comparison with the rest of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40774/13]
View answerThe Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), has established a website, www.callcosts.ie, which provides information to the public on the broadband services marketed by competing service providers on a county by county basis. ComReg does not publish averages of the available broadband speeds on a county or regional basis. The Economic Social Research Institute (ESRI) published a working paper last year, based on the callcosts data, which compared median broadband speeds marketed by county across Ireland. The report concluded that the number of broadband plans, download speeds and prices were relatively comparable across all counties in Ireland, whilst concluding that there were variations in speed within counties, especially in more rural areas of the country.
The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published last Autumn, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses, including those in the South-East. This will be achieved by providing:
-a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and
-a State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest.
Since the publication of the Plan, investments by the commercial sector are underway in both fixed line and wireless high speed broadband services. In order to progress the State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest, a full procurement process must be designed and EU State Aids approval must be obtained. My Department is engaged in a comprehensive mapping exercise of the current and anticipated investment by the commercial sector to identify where the market is expected to deliver high speed broadband services over the coming years. The results of this mapping exercise will inform the precise areas that need to be targeted in the State-led investment as envisaged in the National Broadband Plan.
Intensive technical, financial and legal preparations, including stakeholder engagement, are ongoing. The procurement process for the approved intervention will be carried out in accordance with EU and Irish procurement rules and it is expected that it will be launched in 2014. Through the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, I am committed to ensuring that all parts of Ireland have access to high speed broadband, with a view to ensuring that all citizens and businesses can participate fully in a digitally enabled society.
