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

The task force is implementing the recommendations. It is proceeding with them now; it is not waiting until 2018. We have started to implement a number of those recommendations even in advance of the publication of the task force report. We have appointed liaison officers in each local authority across the country to work with the telecoms industry to assist it in the roll out of infrastructure across the country. That has already happened. I signed a ministerial order in October to allow ComReg to release the 3.5 GHz spectrum. It will be auctioned off in the first half of this year and will improve mobile phone coverage. Part of the problem we have with mobile phone coverage at the moment is that the allocation of licences is based on populations rather than geographic coverage. It is something I am looking at for the release of the 700 MHz spectrum. I have already given RTE an allocation for funding in the current year to allow it to begin the process of decommissioning its broadcasting equipment on the 700 MHz spectrum so we will hopefully be one of the first countries in Europe to release that spectrum. I would like to see that spectrum being released on a geographic rather than a population coverage basis.

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