Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2017
477. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which he has examined the feasibility of putting in place a contract to supply those areas currently excluded from the broadband services with particular reference to the possibility of extending the service to within specific distances from the existing facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49393/17]
View answer478. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of households and businesses throughout the country unable to access high speed broadband; if it will be possible in the short term to extend the services outward from the existing lines for a specific distance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49394/17]
View answer489. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timetable for the provision of high speed, high quality broadband in all areas throughout the country; the areas already provided with such service; the timeframe for each area in the future with particular reference to past experiences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49444/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 477, 478 and 489 together.
The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) will ensure 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 1.5m or 65% of the 2.3m premises in Ireland can get access to high speed broadband and this footprint is expanding.
In April I published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie. This map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan (NBP).
The Map is colour coded and searchable by address/eircode:
- The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP and are the subject of an ongoing procurement process.
- The BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
- The Light BLUE areas represent eir's commercial rural deployment plans to rollout high speed broadband to 300,000 premises by the end of 2018 as part of an Agreement signed with me in April.
There are over 2.3 million premises in the State. Approximately 540,000 fall within the AMBER area and will be covered under the State led Intervention. Just under 1.5 million premises are in a BLUE area and are or will be covered by commercial providers, while approximately 300,000 are LIGHT BLUE and fall to be covered by eir's planned rural deployment.
My Department is in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network in the State intervention area. That procurement process is now at an advanced stage. The “Detailed Solutions” submitted by two bidders on 26th September are being evaluated by the NBP specialist team. The next stage in the procurement process is the receipt of final tenders followed by the appointment of a preferred bidder(s) and contract signature.
As part of this procurement process, the bidder(s) will be required to submit their strategies, including timescales, for the network build and rollout. Delivering connectivity to the premises in the State led intervention under the NBP remains a Government priority and my Department will engage with the winning bidder(s) to ensure the most efficient deployment as part of the contract.
In April, I signed a Commitment Agreement with eir in relation to its plans to provide broadband to an additional 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis by the end of 2018. My Department will be monitoring this rollout to ensure that eir meets its obligations under the Agreement. A copy of the Agreement is available on my Department's website, www.dccae.gov.ie.
To improve both mobile and broadband services in rural Ireland in advance of the rollout of the high speed broadband network to be built in the State intervention area I established, in July 2016, a Taskforce to identify solutions which can be implemented in the short, medium and long term to alleviate mobile phone and broadband coverage deficits, to identify priority areas for rollout and investigate how better services could be provided to consumers. These solutions will enhance the existing services prior to the full build and rollout of the network planned under the NBP State led intervention.
Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through the Broadband Officers is continuing to strengthen. These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities. The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements with operators and clearing obstacles to developing infrastructure. There is a link to a list of these local Broadband Officers on my Department's website.
