Seán Fleming
Ceist:793. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the broadband points planned for a location (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14934/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 July 2020
Ceisteanna (793, 796)
Seán Fleming
Ceist:796. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when surveys for areas (details supplied) will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15517/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 793 and 796 together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) contract was signed with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) in November 2019 to roll out a high-speed and future-proofed broadband network to almost 540,000 premises across the State.
Among the first premises to be connected under the NBP are approximately 300 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs). Each site will be provided with a wireless high speed broadband connection which will make free on-site internet connectivity available to the public. Site owners have volunteered their premises to host public BCP services, thus supporting their communities and ensuring they get a head start on rural connectivity.
The planned BCP locations are listed by county on NBI's website at https://nbi.ie/bcp-locations/. These sites have been carefully selected by Local Authorities, in consultation with local communities and site owners, so that they can provide free public Wi-Fi to support residents of rural communities likely to wait longest for a connection under the fully NBP deployment. It should be noted that some BCP sites may change over time as commercial connectivity becomes more widespread and as the circumstances at each site change.
The delivery of the BCP project is well under way, with initial connectivity provided to a number of sites by National Broadband Ireland. In parallel, Vodafone will begin installing the public access equipment at each site over the coming weeks.
With regard to the sites referred to by the Deputy, both sites have been surveyed to establish their connectivity requirements and they will receive their broadband connectivity in accordance with NBI and Vodafone's schedules over the coming months.