Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2019
456. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the estimated time for connection in the roll-out of the national broadband plan in an area (details supplied); if this property was part of the additional 80,000 residential and businesses expansion recently announced by a company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17436/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI welcome recent announcements of further commercial investment in high speed broadband infrastructure by telecommunications operators. While my Department has received high level presentations from the operators with regard to their recent announcements, the operators have not published, or provided my Department with, detailed commercial or technical plans identifying the individual premises to be served.
The premises referenced by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP. This intervention is the subject of an ongoing procurement process.
The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage. I will bring a recommendation to Government in the coming weeks.
For those premises currently awaiting access to high speed broadband, practical initiatives will continue to be addressed through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to address obstacles and improve connectivity in respect of existing and future mobile phone and broadband services.
Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through Local Authority Broadband Officers is continuing. These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities. The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements.
