Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

For the public at home, I understand we have high-speed fibre-optic cables running down roads, which are totally different to copper cabling. There is no loss of conductivity and is a totally different product. It has larger capacity with little or negligible loss of information over distance versus other forms such as wireless which we have had in the past. This will run along a network like EirGrid - as in the picture essentially - except with cables and spurs then will come off it to go up boreens and to villages, or whatever. If one does not want to cut down one's trees or for them to be obstructed, one pays an additional fee for aesthetics.

What we are undertaking here is a national broadband plan, which is the infrastructure and the cable, that is, the capital investment. Thereafter, once the cable is laid one pays one's bill to the companies - the equivalent of Bord Gáis or whatever - which provide the service. There is therefore a competitive element after the infrastructure has been laid down.

Returning to the 25-year contract, and the additional ten years, will this company have to retender for the additional period? If there is a preferred bidder with a signed contract, after 25 years will this company have the capacity to extend by another ten years if it wants-----