Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2017
628. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he will take to ensure phone and Internet coverage (details supplied) in an area of County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32588/17]
View answerThe provision of telecommunications services, including mobile phone and broadband services, is a matter for the service providers concerned which operate in a fully liberalised market regulated by the independent Regulator of the telecommunications sector, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). I do not have a statutory authority to require commercial companies to roll out services to particular locations.
Any customer across Ireland who experiences service difficulties, including in the Gap of Dunloe, County Kerry, should raise the matter with the service provider in the first instance. If this fails to resolve matters, customers can and should refer a complaint to ComReg, which will investigate the service provider's compliance with its contractual obligations.
However, notwithstanding the independence of ComReg, I recognise the frustration experienced across Ireland where telecommunications networks are not always delivering the services people expect. In that regard, I specifically included in the Programme for Government a commitment to a Mobile Phone and Broadband Task force. In July 2016, I established the Task Force, to identify immediate solutions to broadband and mobile phone coverage deficits and investigate how better services could be provided to consumers, prior to the full build and roll-out of the network planned under the National Broadband Plan State intervention. The December 2016 report of the Taskforce is available on my Department's website.
The Task Force worked with Departments, local authorities, ComReg, State agencies, the telecoms industry and other key stakeholders to produce the report which contains 40 actions to alleviate some of the telecommunications deficits across Ireland. An Implementation Group has been established to drive and monitor implementation of the actions, bringing together all key stakeholders responsible for delivery. On 13 June, I published the first quarterly progress report, which is available on my Department's website. It shows that considerable progress has been made, particularly on implementation of actions identified for Q1 2017. I intend to publish the second quarterly report shortly.
This work will also assist local authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contracts are in place.
In addition, following regulations which I signed last year, ComReg’s recent announcement of the results of its auction for the 3.6 GHz radio spectrum band, will mean an 86% increase in spectrum capacity to meet the growing demand for mobile and wireless broadband services across rural and urban areas. The award of 15 year licences for the rights of use in this band will provide stability and create future investment certainty. Spectrum was also awarded in lots covering 9 urban and rural regions across Ireland.
Commercial investment by mobile operators has resulted in improved services, following ComReg's multi-band spectrum auction in 2012. At least one operator now has in excess of 90% 4G population coverage. However, as mobile services are a radio based technology, services can be affected by topography, quality of handsets and the capacity of the network, as well as by and proximity to mobile telephone antennas.
These initiatives should assist in enhancing the quality of mobile phone and data services, particularly in rural areas.
With regard to broadband services, the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) will provide high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector so that to date approximately 1.4 million or 61% of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband of a minimum of 30 Megabits per second and this footprint is expanding.
In April, eir signed an agreement with me committing them to follow through on their commercial plans to provide new high speed broadband infrastructure to 300,000 premises in rural areas. Eir has committed to doing this work over a 90 week period with an average of 500 premises passed per day. A copy of the Commitment Agreement is available on my Department's website www.dccae.gov.ie. The decision by eir to invest in infrastructure to deploy high speed broadband services to an additional 300,000 premises in rural Ireland was taken by eir on commercial grounds. Neither I nor the Department have a statutory authority to direct eir in this regard.
Quarterly updates on progress of the eir 300,000 roll-out will be published on the Departments website. The Q1 figures have been verified by my Department and the eir roll-out is in line with the Commitment Agreement.
In April I published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. This map finalises the State Intervention Area for the procurement process and is an important milestone in the procurement process. The Map shows the extent of the State Intervention area and also the areas targeted for commercial services.
- The BLUE areas represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering or have indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services,
- The AMBER areas on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the areas that will require State Intervention and are the subject of the current procurement process.
There are 126 premises in the townland of Dunloe Upper, of which 28 premises will benefit from the NBP's State Intervention. The remaining 98 premises are located in the commercial BLUE area and will be served by commercial operators. This figure includes 68 premises that fall within eir's plans to deliver rural high speed broadband between now and end 2018 (Light BLUE on map). Information on eir's planned rural deployment is available at http://fibrerollout.ie/eircode-lookup/.
Individuals can themselves check whether their premises is in a BLUE or an AMBER area by accessing the High Speed Broadband Map and entering their Eircode at www.broadband.gov.ie.
