The Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), which was published in August 2012 by the then Minister, outlined Government’s commitment to deliver high speed broadband availability across the country and reflects Government and European objectives to deliver high speed broadband services to all citizens. Specifically it committed to a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated.
Since the publication of the Plan, there have been updates provided in respect of progress. In April 2014, the Government decided that it needed to scale up the ambition of the plan. This was a consequence of the mapping process, which had been underway since 2013, and which demonstrated that there was a significant fibre-deficit across Ireland which would require a major network build to address. It also recognised new State Aid Guidelines published in 2013, a significant ramp-up in demand for data services nationally and internationally, and accelerated industry investment following regulatory and policy decisions, which included legislation to allow ESB to enter the telecoms market.
Facilitating commercial investment continues to be a critical element of the Plan and industry is now delivering to approximately 1.4m premises across Ireland, which represents an increase of at least 400,000 more homes and businesses than had originally been anticipated. Telecoms operators are also rolling out fibre-to-the-home services in Ireland - a technology which was not envisaged on any scale in 2012. At least two operators have announced ambitious fibre-to-the-home roll-out plans, one of which involves the use of the ESB network, which was facilitated by legislation introduced by my Department as part of the broader NBP policy.
Following the Government's decision to scale up the ambition of the plan, significant additional resources were brought to bear on the project. Since then, my predecessor and I have held media briefings to flag key milestones in the development of the Plan. These include:
- November 2014 - the publication of the High Speed Broadband Map and launch of a public consultation.
- June 2015 - the publication of the draft Intervention Strategy along with 7 expert reports which are supporting the delivery of the procurement.
- December 2015 - the publication of the updated High Speed Broadband Map and formal launch of the procurement process, with the publication of a detailed Project Information Memorandum and Project Information Notice in the Official Journal of the EU.
- July 2016 - the decision by Government in relation to the ownership model for the network to be built and the shortlisting of three companies to be brought forward as bidders in the procurement process.
- July 2016- the establishment of a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to consider immediate measures to address telecommunications deficits in rural Ireland.
I am sure that the Deputy will agree that regular progress reports on the development of the plan, at the key milestone stages outlined, is important in order to inform the public of progress.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network to over 750,000 premises in Ireland, covering 100,000 km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland.
Earlier this year, before I came into office, the Department announced that it would be June 2017 before contract(s) were awarded under the NBP. The bidders in the process have recently indicated that they may need more time to conclude the procurement process. The timing of each stage of the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team, and bidders, during the procurement process. Bidders need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at key stages of the process. It is also important to ensure that risks in this multi-million euro procurement are carefully managed. I do not propose to comment any further at this juncture, given that discussions are ongoing in the procurement process. I can assure the Deputy however, that the procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years. The Government considers the NBP to be one of the most significant investments in rural Ireland for decades, and one which will transform society, akin to rural electrification in the last century.
During the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out 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 roll-out plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed roll-out plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
In a further positive initiative, last July, I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce with my colleague Minister Humphreys to address immediate issues in relation to the quality of mobile phone and broadband coverage. I expect to publish the report of the Taskforce in the coming weeks.
I recently signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed in early 2017 to allocate spectrum in the 3.6GHz radio spectrum band. This will provide an 86% increase in total spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless services. I have also secured €8m for RTE which will allow it to free up the 700MHz spectrum band, to provide enhanced mobile services.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the removal of barriers to assist in commercial deployment of telecommunications networks.
These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
