Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 June 2016
196. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of staff employed to deliver the tendering stage of the national broadband plan within his Department. [18638/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the delivery of High Speed Broadband under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. The National Broadband Team oversees the delivery of every aspect of the NBP including:
- Mapping of the areas where commercial services are available and monitoring of commercial rollout
- Addressing barriers to commercial rollout
- Development of the detailed intervention strategy under the NBP
- Analysis of ownership options
- Detailed Cost modelling
- cost benefit analysis
- Analysis of funding option
- Analysis of Governance requirements
- Environmental requirements
- The on-going State Aid Notification process with EU DG Competition
- Development of Procurement documentation and delivery of a complex procurement process involving extensive dialogue with commercial telecoms operators.
- Establishing a Taskforce on mobile phone and broadband coverage
- Developing proposals for an entity to manage State telecoms contracts
- Liaising with the telecommunications regulator, ComReg, and the European Commission on regulatory measures relating to high speed broadband rollout.
Each strand of the NBP intervention strategy has been carefully designed and developed in consultation with industry and other stakeholders in order to deliver the highest level of broadband access in the most effective and cost efficient way.
The NBP Team works across all strands of this major policy area, and comprises approximately 20 full-time equivalent personnel, including expert staff seconded from the telecoms regulator, ComReg. The Team is fully supported by external professional expertise including technical, commercial, economic, legal, environmental and financial, to assist in the delivery of the project. A dedicated Steering Group and Procurement Board is also in place to provide input on the overall strategy and on the procurement process. The size of the team varies from time to time, according to the specific needs of the project and is scaled up or down as necessary.
The delivery of the procurement phase of the NBP involves input from all team members working on the project phases which includes: -
- Step 1: Publication of the Pre-qualification Questionnaire – this step was launched on 22 December 2015.
- Step 2: Five responses were received to this stage of the process, by the deadline of 31 March (which was extended by one month, from 29 February to 31 March at the request of bidders).
- Step 3: Qualified bidders will be invited to commence dialogue (Invitation to Participate in Dialogue). This is scheduled to commence over the coming weeks and will take a number of months;
- Step 4: Bidders will be invited to submit detailed solutions for further dialogue (Invitation to submit detailed solutions);
- Step 4a Bidders will then submit detailed solutions for evaluation;
- Step 5: Bidders will be invited to submit final, formal tenders following further dialogue
- Step 5a: Bidders submit formal tenders;
- Step 6: Formal tenders submitted by qualified bidders will be evaluated.
- Step 7: Preferred bidder(s) identified
- Step 8: 25 year contract awarded – June 2017.
The timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of bidders short-listed and the complexities that may be encountered during the dialogue process. It is expected that contract(s) will be awarded in June 2017.
As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best rollout strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and/or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network rollout plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht. A detailed rollout plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
This ambitious project aims to conclusively address broadband connectivity issues across Ireland and the procurement process aims to secure contractor(s) to build a network that will cover 100,000km of road, and 96% of the land area of Ireland, most of which comprises rural areas. A project of this magnitude needs to be resourced appropriately and I am confident that my Department has put in place an experienced, and appropriately skilled team to manage the ongoing strategy development and procurement process, both of which are inextricably linked.
