Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
164. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the steps that are being taken to assist local broadband providers in competing for public sector contracts. [62974/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) state led intervention is deploying a fibre broadband network to cover areas in every county in Ireland, where commercial operators are not already providing a high speed broadband service. The network that is being built and operated by National Broadband Ireland (NBI), is a wholesale open-access network, which means that NBI does not sell services directly to homes, businesses, or organisations such as public sector bodies, but instead makes the network available to all retailers of broadband service, both small and large to sell broadband and other services. There are already almost 50 retail service operators selling broadband services to customers over the NBP network. While these companies include big national retailers such as eir, Sky and Vodafone, there are also many much smaller retailers, that can now sell services at a national level, where in the past they could only serve their own local area. The NBP network, together with other open-access wholesale networks have created new opportunities for smaller broadband companies to reach a wider client base, including public sector bodies, creating new opportunities for a wide number of companies and generating further competition in the market.
