Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2015
49. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the updated area intervention map for the national broadband plan will be published; if he is aware of concerns that delays with private operator investment for expansion are occurring on account of the planned intervention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44804/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The Plan aims to ensure that 85% of all premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband by 2018, with 100% having access by 2020. Currently approximately 1.2m premises have access to services and it is expected that 1.6m premises (70%) will have access by the end of next year.
While I have no input into formulating the plans of commercial operators, I can assure the deputy that the Department strongly encourages commercial investment under the National Broadband Plan. Our objective is to ensure that through the combination of these investments and the State intervention, we will deliver quality, high speed services for every citizen, regardless of where they live or work.
The European State Aid Guidelines for Broadband require Member States to thoroughly evaluate any commercial plans so as to ensure that State Aid is confined to those areas where commercial investment in high speed broadband services is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future. The planned period for the rollout of the State Intervention is 2016 to 2020. The High Speed Broadband Map 2016, which was published last year, related to the period up to end 2016. The Department has now revised the investment period under assessment in order to consider future Next Generation Access (NGA) investment plans of commercial operators up to 2020.
The Department has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of commercial investment plans submitted to date and has recently published a document 'Mapping future high speed broadband networks', which sets out the Department's process for assessing operator plans and the commitments it expects from operators. It is critically important that Government can be assured that such plans will materialise in full. A further update on the High Speed Broadband Map is planned to be published by my Department before the end of this year.
