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

The three consortia involved in the tender process have said that it is their intention to use the fibre-to-the-home solution predominantly. This will mean that homes and premises will receive up to 1,000 Mbps, well in advance of 30 Mbps. That is the challenge facing us with the national broadband plan and was one of the mistakes that was made, in that, at the time of the initial procurement process, the benchmark was set too low.

There are clear caveats set out in the tender documentation which runs to 1,000 pages where it is clearly stated that as demand and average speeds in urban areas increase, the service in rural areas must keep in step with them. That is why, because of the way we have structured the tender process, the three consortia are looking at a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. We are not talking about 100 Mbps, 200 Mbps or even 300 or 400 Mbps but about up to 1,000 Mbps, should people require it.

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