Broadband service providers operate in a fully liberalised market, regulated, where appropriate, by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. The installation of any equipment to facilitate the provision of broadband services is a matter for the network owners.
My Department has entered into a contract with "3", a Hutchison Whampoa company, for the delivery of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). 3 will be required to provide services to all residences and businesses that are within the NBS area and who seek a service.
3 is currently planning the construction and rollout of the required infrastructure for the purposes of the provision of the service. Challenging rollout targets have been agreed with 3. Services will begin to be rolled out in April 2009 and the entire NBS area must be covered by September 2010.
The general area of Croghan, County Roscommon will be covered by the NBS. However, 3 is not in a position, at this juncture, to predict the progression of site rollout in advance of obtaining the necessary permissions. One month prior to the NBS being launched in any given area, 3 will implement a marketing campaign to announce the forthcoming service availability. The campaign will include, inter alia, local press and outdoor advertising. Details of the areas to be covered by 3 under the NBS are available at www.three.ie/nbs.