Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps Deputy Lawless was not here when I mentioned timelines. We expected to have a preferred bidder by September and we expect that the vast majority of the build-out will be completed within three years. That is the timeline we are looking at. The Deputy asked about Enet and whether it is a retail or wholesale operation. Enet is a wholesale operation and this contract is for a wholesale operator. The entity that wins this cannot retail the product. The intention, and I do not see why it could not become the reality, is for the range of existing commercial operators retailing to the public providing an offering on that. That is the most likely outcome. From my discussions with people in the industry, I know they are anxiously awaiting this because they believe there are major opportunities for them.

The Deputy asked about a phased approach in the build-out of fibre versus fibre to the home. This was a technology-neutral competition and there was a competitive tender dialogue process to formulate the best long-term solution. It was the right way to go. The national broadband scheme brought 3G mobile services to rural areas but the day it went live, it was obsolete because technology had moved on. In this process we are bidding to get a solution that meets the requirements for the next 25 years and beyond. It is a question I asked of Mr. Vint Cerf when I invited him to Dublin during the summer. I was concerned that in five years there could be some fabulous solution that is even better than fibre but Mr. Cerf made it quite clear to me there is nothing faster than light. At that stage there was commercial roll-out of 10,000 Mbps using fibre. I understand from some of the experts in the field now that one can even get up to 40,000 Mbps. The box at either end of the cable may have to change but the cable itself will not. It is the only future-proofed solution.