Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
243. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which broadband continues to be made available throughout County Kildare with a view to facilitating working from home or from digital hubs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35414/20]
View answer244. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which high-speed broadband continues to be made available throughout the country including County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35415/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together.
The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie, shows the areas in Kildare which will be included in the National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led intervention as well as areas targeted by commercial operators. The map is colour coded and searchable by address and Eircode.
- Premises in the AMBER area will be provided with high speed broadband through the State led Intervention, the contract for which was signed in November last with National Broadband Ireland (NBI).
- The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
The NBP network will offer users a high speed broadband service with a minimum download speed of 500Mbps from the outset. This represents an increase from the 150Mbps committed to under the Contract. The deployment plan forecasts premises passed in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Kildare through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website at www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises when works are due to commence. I am advised by NBI that, as of 4 November 2020, almost 122,000 premises across 25 counties have been surveyed which is ahead of the full year survey target of 120,000 that had been projected by the company. Surveys have been completed in the following areas across Co Kildare, Killashee, Oughterard, Naas Rural, Rathmore, Eadestown, Kill, Kilteel, Carnalway, Gilltown, Ballymore Eustace, Bodenstown, Naas Urban, Newtown and Donaghcumper. The next step is for NBI to develop network designs to deliver the new fibre to the home network to these premises, followed by pre build and build works.
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP, providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 30 October, 187 sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly available sites and by the Department of Education and Skills for schools. 59 publicly accessible BCPs across the country are now live. BCPs locations due for installation in Kildare include Backgate Lodge, Kilkee Demesne, Castledermot and Crookstown Further Education and Training Centre. BCPs installed and waiting connectivity include Lullymore Heritage Park and Bigstone Community Hall. Further details can be found at https://nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.
Rathmore National School and St Davids National School in Co Kildare will be connected for educational access as part of this initiative by the end of the year. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education and Skills to prioritise other schools with no high speed broadband, within the intervention area for connection over the term of the NBP.
Question No. 245 answered with Question No. 146.
