At the outset the State can only become active in the telecommunications market in cases of clear market failure. The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, are a matter in the first instance, for the many commercial players who operate in the Irish market. Therefore, decisions on when and where to locate investment are always taken on commercial grounds, having regard to the likely return on investment. Under EU Commission's State Aid guidelines, the State is prohibited from providing any financial assistance to any commercial operator for the expansion of their broadband service.
The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) is a commitment to ensure that every citizen and business in Ireland has access to high quality, high speed broadband. This will be delivered through a combination of commercial and state investment.
The recent engagement between my Departmental officials and the telecommunications industry has highlighted the large number of small-scale local wireless operators who are currently providing broadband services to many local communities nationwide. This engagement has also highlighted the issues small operators have today to meet local demand for high speed broadband and the high cost associated with upgrading their services.
If any of these companies can demonstrate beyond doubt that they have the capability and resources to provide high speed broadband through their own investment then we will include them on our coverage map and the State led intervention will not be rolled out in these areas.
Even if these operators cannot afford to invest in their networks, I still see a major role for these companies as we will be providing the necessary funding to ensure a wholesale network is available that will be fully open to any retail operator who wishes to offer high speed broadband services to business or residential customers. Given the established customer base of many of these local companies I am confident that the NBP intervention will enable them to offer significantly enhanced services to their customers. My Department will be launching a procurement process later this year to award a contract or contracts for the roll out of the high speed network and all companies, large and small, may have an opportunity to be part of this process and receive funding for the network build.
Charges for connection to the Distribution System are calculated by ESB Networks Ltd and approved by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER). This matter is an operational matter for the company concerned and not one in which I, as Minister, have a role or function.
