Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2015
101. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the broadband technology that the planned State intervention under the national broadband plan will use; his views on the timeframe to connect all premises to high speed broadband Internet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31786/15]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan proposed Intervention Strategy document, which was published on 15 July last, sets out a series of detailed proposals by Government in respect of the proposed State intervention. It sets out the key elements of the intervention - what services are proposed and how they will be delivered. It outlines various aspects of the proposed intervention including the type of network envisaged, the minimum speeds being demanded, the length of the contract for services, and whether the network should be public or privately owned. The draft Intervention Strategy has been developed following intensive engagement with industry and wider stakeholders.
In addition, the European Commission has set out detailed guidelines on what is required to obtain State Aid approval for Government interventions in the broadband sector. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has followed these guidelines when formulating the proposed intervention strategy. Key among those guidelines is the requirement to observe a strict policy of technology neutrality in designing an intervention programme and in running a procurement process.
Therefore, the Department cannot and will not specify any particular technology platform when going to the market to secure a potential bidder or bidders for the NBP contract. It will be up to bidders to set out clearly in their bid how they propose to meet the standard of services being sought by the Government. However, it is anticipated that any proposals from bidders will have fibre technology as a key element within their solution. It is recognised within industry that fibre is the technology of choice for at least the backhaul part of the network.
The Strategy demonstrates clearly the Government’s commitment to honouring its pledge to deal definitively with the challenge of providing resilient and high-quality broadband connectivity to every premises in the country, irrespective of location.
