Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 June 2012
100 Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the progress that has been made to date to extend the existing MAN to meet enterprise needs at the Industrial Development Agency strategic site at Belview and the port area, County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27621/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Metropolitan Area Networks (MANS) including the MAN in Waterford City are managed, maintained and operated by the Managed Service Entity (e|net) on behalf of the State under a Concession Agreement.
While there are no specific plans to extend existing MANS, including the MAN in Waterford City, the Government accepts that the widespread availability of high speed broadband is a key requirement in delivering future economic and social development. With basic broadband services now widely available across Ireland, the challenge is to accelerate the roll out of high speed services. The Next Generation Broadband Taskforce (NGBT), has had an important role to play in this regard.
The Taskforce report has now been published. The report notes that by 2015, over 50% of the population will have access to high speed 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.
Following on the work of the Taskforce, I will shortly be bringing proposals for a National Broadband Plan to Government, with a view to agreeing a comprehensive set of policy actions to underpin the provision of high speed broadband services on a national basis. This is a key priority. A particular challenge will be the source of funding to address gaps in high speed coverage in areas that the market may deem to be commercially unviable.
