Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2020
781. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when broadband will be made available to an area (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10572/20]
View answer787. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the provision of fibre broadband to a property (details supplied). [10698/20]
View answer797. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the national broadband plan; if a contract has been signed; the timeline for connection for specific areas in counties Sligo and Leitrim (details supplied) in which there is currently poor coverage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11283/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 781, 787 and 797 together.
The Government is committed to delivering high speed broadband to every home, farm, business and school in the country.
The Questions refer to premises which are located in the AMBER area on the NBP High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led Intervention, the contract for which was signed in November last with National Broadband Ireland (NBI).
All counties will see premises passed in the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State will have access to high speed broadband within the next four years. The NBP network will offer users a high speed broadband service with a minimum download speed of 150Mbps from the outset. By the end of next year, NBI plans to pass in the region of 115,000 premises, with 70,000 - 100,000 passed each year thereafter until rollout is completed.
Work has already begun and up to date information on deployment activities is now available on NBI’s website www.nbi.ie. There is a dedicated email address reps@nbi.ie with any specific queries you may have in relation to premises located in the AMBER area.
To support remote working and connected communities, approximately 300 Broadband Connections Points (BCPs) were identified by Local Authorities to be connected to high speed broadband this year. This will assist communities to quickly get free public access to high speed broadband in advance of the main NBP deployment. The planned BCP locations, including schools, library hubs, local sports facilities and other public places are available to view on the High Speed Broadband Map on the Department’s website www.broadband.gov.ie. The BCP delivery project is well underway and surveying of the BCP locations is progressing which will facilitate detailed design and installation. BCP locations are subject to change and a number of the premises initially identified are in the process of being replaced with alternative locations. The remaining BCPs remain on track for delivery by the end of 2020.
The BCPs in identified public places will leverage the high speed broadband connection through a range of measures and initiatives, for example providing free public Wi-Fi, some will also have hot-desks, and some will be digital hub business centres where digital training, business information events and other SME supports are organised.
