Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
81. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if NBI is continuing to engage with a company (details supplied) to provide broadband to premises in cases in which the company's fibre broadband infrastructure is bordering an amber area under the national broadband plan and given that the company has sufficient capacity to accommodate more premises on this line; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62538/22]
View answerThis question relates to the same issue I have just raised. Can the Minister provide information where Eir is prepared to engage on properties along the borderline areas? We certainly have not come across it in the Cork area. Every time we get on to Eir about such a connection, we are told "No". Does the Minister have other information in that regard?
The architecture of the network design for the national broadband plan is specifically based on the design of the National Broadband Ireland network coming from the Open Eir exchanges or the metropolitan area networks managed by Eir. It is based on an engineering design that allows NBI to get to every premises as quickly and as efficiently as possible working within the confines of how fibre networks are built. The design uses existing infrastructure to a very significant degree.
NBI have advised that it has run a tender process for the provision of alternative solutions that would complement the NBI build, while delivering the NBP specified broadband product and its associated service level agreements. Five providers passed the pre-qualification stage and were provided with the tender documentation to respond. Three of the qualified bidders provided a response to the tender. One of the three subsequently withdrew from the process, leaving two providers to enter the product testing phase of the tender process. The product testing trials, to validate the proposed products meet the NBP specification, are in progress at present. Subject to successful completion of the technical validation, commercial evaluation of the proposals will begin.
