Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020
117. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the engagements he has and or his officials have had with National Broadband Ireland in respect of the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive in the context of the National Broadband Plan: and if he and or his officials have engaged with the ESB in respect of same. [41899/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract signed in November 2019 to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the over 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools. The NBP deployment plan forecasts premises passed in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years.
Consistent with the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive, NBI will seek to maximise the re-use of existing infrastructure with its plan to re-use predominantly the existing eir pole and duct network and the State owned Metropolitan Area Networks co-location sites currently managed by enet through a concession contract.
I am advised by NBI that as of 3 December 2020 over 139,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed which is ahead of the full year survey target of 120,000 that had been projected by the company. Surveying is the first step towards delivering the new fibre network and involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area. This informs design solutions for provision of the fibre network to each and every premises in the surveyed area and leads to detailed designs. The detailed designs are then used to initiate the ‘make ready’ project with Open eir for the area, where Open eir ensure any poles and ducts being reused are fit for purpose and the make ready of other required infrastructure. Separately NBI are considering alternative options in terms of delivering the NBI solution. This includes an engagement with ESB to assess the potential to utilise the ESB Network for certain areas, as allowed for under Broadband Cost Reduction Directive. NBI also plan to engage other third parties in this exercise in due course.
The ESB engagement involves the surveying of ESB Network infrastructure in a sample deployment area and the development of a detailed design for that area. This process will help establish the technical and practical feasibility of whether or not the ESB network is compatible with the NBI solution. This is the primary focus at this time and is likely to take until the end of the year. NBI anticipates that the overall assessment will continue into 2021.
