The State-owned Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) have played an important role in driving competition in the regions and attracting foreign direct investment to the cities and towns where they are located. The MANs have facilitated large and small retail service providers, operating in a fully liberalised market, in providing high speed broadband services without having to build their own networks. The MANs provide a link between national backhaul networks and the “last mile” access networks that deliver telecommunications services to citizens and businesses. The 88 MANs which cover 94 regional cities and towns are managed, maintained, marketed and operated under a concession by a Management Services Entity (MSE). enet is currently the MSE for the MANs and further details relating to the MANs are available at www.enet.ie.
The MSE provides fibre based services and products to licensed telecommunications operators on a wholesale, open access basis. In towns like Clifden, for example, the MSE provides wholesale broadband services to a number of different operators who provide downstream services to end customers. The decision, however, to avail of the MANs is ultimately based on the operator’s own commercial business case.
The MANs are now used by over 60 licensed telecoms operators and it is estimated that in excess of 600,000 users are benefitting from services provided through the MANs. The SME market has also benefitted from the MANs, with enhanced services on different platforms available from a range of service providers. Other end customers served by service providers availing of the MANs infrastructure include industrial estates, multinationals, State entities, educational institutions, as well as fixed and mobile customers outside Dublin.
enet, in its private capacity, has developed a model to construct wholesale Fibre to the Building (FTTB) networks, aimed at meeting the needs of the SME market, in four pilot towns, namely Claremorris, Loughrea, Ardee and Kilkenny. These networks provide a fibre connection from the MAN to business premises in these towns.
Under EU State Aid rules, the State can only intervene in cases of clear market failure. Any question of subsidising connections to the MANs would come within the area of State Aid.
The current focus of policy is to deliver high speed broadband services through the National Broadband Plan (NBP). The Plan aims to deliver high speed broadband to every citizen and business in Ireland. This is being achieved through a combination of accelerated commercial investment by telecoms operators, and a proposed State intervention to provide high speed broadband to those parts of the country where the commercial sector will not invest. The State-led intervention will deliver services where through an open and competitive process in which all operators can bid to provide services.
The NBP proposed Intervention Strategy document, which I 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.
My Department is currently in the process of updating the high speed broadband coverage Map, published initially in November 2014, taking into consideration any new information received or operator announcements made of any new plans. I expect to publish an updated version of the Map before the end of this year.
The Government is determined to ensure that the network is built out as quickly as possible and engagement with industry stakeholders has indicated that this could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award.
In this context, the NBP proposes that through the combination of commercial investment and State intervention, 85% of addresses in Ireland will have access to high speed services by 2018 with all addresses passed by 2020.
