I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 88, 92, 93 and 95 together.
The provision of electronic communications services including broadband services is, in the first instance, a matter for competing service providers operating in Ireland's fully liberalised telecommunications market, regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).
The Government has undertaken a number of initiatives to bring broadband to those parts of the country where operators have not offered services on a commercial basis. In the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS), for example, services are available from the NBS service provider, 3, to persons with a fixed residence or fixed business in each of the 1,028 Electoral Divisions (ED) where a lack of broadband access had been identified. The Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS), which was launched last year, will serve individual premises that are unable to receive a broadband service, due to technical difficulties such as line of sight issues. Completion of the RBS programme later this year means that Ireland will meet the EU Commission's Digital Agenda for Europe target of having a basic broadband service available to all areas by 2013.
International comparisons on broadband access are complicated and difficult to assess. Comparisons by the OECD, for example, are based on published speeds offered by the largest service providers in each country. These comparisons do not take account of high bandwidth circuits which are negotiated bilaterally between the customer and service provider in each case. In addition, the country comparisons are based on a ranking of advertised headline speeds only, which do not take account of actual speeds experienced by customers. Akamai, http://www.akamai.com/, an infrastructure provider to the Internet industry with servers located in 650 cities and 72 countries, on the other hand, publishes quarterly data which, among other things, measures and compares average and peak speeds available to customers across 49 countries.
The OECD broadband survey for September 2011, positions Ireland 30th in a ranking of countries based on the fastest advertised broadband speed. This compares to Akami's report for September 2011 ranking Ireland 13th globally and 7th within Europe for the highest average peak connection speeds provided. Similarly in the case of average speeds, Ireland is 21st in the ranking of highest average advertised speeds by the OECD compared to an Akami ranking of 8th globally and 4th within Europe for its average connection speed of 7Mbps. This compares to 8.5 Mbps provided in the Netherlands, the highest ranked of 23 European countries and South Korea at 16.7Mbps, the highest ranked of the 49 countries compared. It also has to be borne in mind these are average speeds by country which do not reflect actual speeds available in particular areas or regions of the countries compared. Therefore, insofar as comparable broadband statistics on average and peak speeds provided are available, Ireland hovers about the limit of the top quartile of countries compared when measured on speeds provided and performs far better in a comparison of actual speeds measured than it does in a comparison of marketed headline speeds.
There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to co-invest with the private sector and commercial Semi State sector to provide Next Generation Broadband customer access and associated fast speeds to every home and business in the State. The Next Generation Broadband Taskforce (NGBT), which I convened last summer, has had an important role to play in this regard. It comprises the CEOs of all of the major telecommunications companies operating in the Irish market, as well as CEOs of some other companies that provide broadband services. The purpose of the Taskforce, among other things, was to assist in developing a roadmap for the development of next generation networks across Ireland.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Taskforce report has now been published today. The report notes that by 2015 50% of the population will have access to highspeed broadband services with speeds in excess of 70 Mbps. The report also highlights areas where Government and industry can work together to facilitate the roll out of high speed services across Ireland, and particularly in areas where the case for commercial investment is marginal. I have also today launched a 4 week consultation process, following on the publication of the Taskforce report. The purpose of this consultation is to provide further input to this important policy area. Thereafter, it is my intention to bring proposals to Government for a National Broadband Plan for Ireland. This plan will build on the recent excellent progress made and be informed by the findings of the Taskforce and subsequent consultations.
Question No. 30 answered with Question No. 11.
