Denis Naughten
Ceist:30 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the plans he has to develop a broadband backbone throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31119/03]
Other Questions. - Electronic Communications Infrastructure.
Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 an indicative €200 million of Government and European regional development fund or European Regional Development Fund funding has been allocated to broadband infrastructure initiatives aimed at addressing the country's broadband deficit. Funding has been made available for a number of major infrastructure projects, including the creation of 19 metropolitan area networks, MANs, in towns and cities throughout the country, the extension of broadband services by both Eircom and Esat BT, the creation of a national fibre trunk network by the ESB and a number of smaller local initiatives involving upgrades to existing cable networks and switches.
The MANs, which are being constructed by local and regional authorities supported by Government and EU funding of €64 million, are designed to interconnect to the maximum possible extent with existing infrastructure. It is expected that the MANs will be completed on time and within budget by mid-2004. When completed they will be managed for the State by a management services entity, MSE, which is currently being procured. The MSE will have full responsibility for the management, marketing and maintenance of the MANs and will be awarded a services concession contract for a period of ten years in consideration of a financial return to the State.
In recent years, under the national development plans, my Department and the European Regional Development Fund have co-invested in a number of regional high speed projects, including the ESB Telecoms, ESBT, fibre wrap project, the western digital corridor and some of Esat's and Eircom's regional networks. The objective of these investments is to address regional backbone deficits and to drive price and choice in those areas. As indicated in the Minister, Deputy Ahern's, announcement last Thursday, of the Government's broadband action plan, additional Government funding of €140 million has been secured under a multi-annual budget that will make broadband available to over 350,000 people who have no access to broadband and no immediate prospect of it.
It is intended to extend broadband connectivity to all areas, including smaller rural communities, using the group schemes model which has proved so effective in the provision of rural water supplies.
We had a discussion on this issue earlier and I am anxious to let my colleague, Deputy Crawford, ask his questions. He has a strong interest in this area. The contract for the management services entity was due to be awarded in September. Why has it been delayed until now? When will we be given the name of the MSE? Will the MSE be given responsibility to manage the €140 million over the next four years for the roll out of broadband to 80 towns? Is it planned that the same entity will manage both the fibre rings and the roll out? That would make sense. Is the Minister satisfied that we are rolling out broadband to homes and businesses with sufficient capacity to keep Ireland competitive? We are rolling out DSL with 500 kilobytes whereas competitors such as Hong Kong and other cities are rolling out broadband with up to five megabytes. Will the Minister comment on that?
The network is to be managed for the State on an open access basis by an independent management service. The MSE is being established subject to a tendering process and a contract should be in place by the end of January.
I welcome the extension of broadband to the smaller towns. I listened to the discussion between the Minister and my colleague, Deputy Coveney, earlier and there are unwelcome charges. This morning the chairman of Kingscourt community group, Councillor Clifford Kelly, asked why a town such as Kingscourt, with a population of more than 1,500 and companies such as Gypsum Industries, Kingscourt Brick and Kingspan, is not on the list to receive broadband in the near future. If there is an intention to keep business in rural areas, there must be a commitment to towns such as Kingscourt. What criteria were used that led to the exclusion of a town like Kingscourt?
The Minister might answer my question about capacity as well.
I do not have an immediate answer for Deputy Crawford but I will forward it to him. I am sure the decentralisation of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to Cavan next year will mean broadband provision is part of the scheme. I will get the information for the Deputy.
Cavan town is already included. Kingscourt is one of the towns excluded.
I will find out about Kingscourt and drop a note to the Deputy.
Are we rolling out broadband of sufficient capacity?
I am happy that we are.
How does the Minister of State propose to make the link up between the fibres being put in the ground and the last mile? Will he rely on ComReg to push the local loop on bundling or has he other initiatives in that regard, because without this its other fibre would be of no real use. How does the Minister of State propose to deal with the issue?
It is obvious that ComReg will have an input but I will have to get facts for the Deputy.