Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 April 2019
287. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to revalidate the business case for the national broadband plan to ensure that it will deliver good value for money in view of the fact that the evaluation of the State intervention area is out of date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15825/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra289. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department has engaged with providers (details supplied) and discussed these technologies and their advancements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15827/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 287 and 289 together.
I welcome recent announcements of further commercial investment in high speed broadband infrastructure by telecommunications operators. While I have not had direct engagement with either company, officials from my Department have met with representatives of these operators and have received high level presentations from both with regard to their commercial deployment plans. To date, neither operator has published, or provided my Department with, detailed commercial or technical plans identifying individual premises to be served.
My Department monitors deployment of high speed broadband on an ongoing basis as part of the NBP and this monitoring continues in parallel with the NBP procurement process. The NBP High Speed Broadband Map can be updated during the procurement, or following award of an NBP contract, to reflect new commercial plans, or to update areas where previous plans have failed to fully materialise.
The State Intervention area for the NBP procurement process, contains approximately 540,000 premises. This remains as set out on my Department’s High Speed Broadband Map, available at www.broadband.gov.ie.
The NBP procurement process is in its final stage. My Department has undertaken additional detailed analysis to inform its consideration of whether the final tender submitted by the bidder could be recommended as an acceptable outcome for Government. This analysis has been undertaken with input from technical, commercial and telecommunications experts. I intend to make a recommendation to Government in the coming weeks.
