Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of MANs that do not have sufficient backhaul connection; the number of MANs that do not have sufficient last mile connection; and the initiatives he will take to maximise the usage of MANs to assist in the roll-out of next generation networks. [14998/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The provision of broadband services is, in the first instance, a matter for the private sector. Broadband service providers operate in a fully liberalised market, regulated, where appropriate, by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg.

The role of the Government is to formulate regulatory and infrastructure policies to facilitate the provision of high quality telecommunications services by competing private sector service providers. The widespread provision of broadband services continues to be a priority for the Government. In that regard my Department has undertaken initiatives to address the gaps in broadband coverage. These include grant aid under the group broadband scheme, the procurement of broadband services under the national broadband scheme to those remaining areas of the country without broadband and investment in metropolitan area networks, MANs.

By the middle of this year, local and regional authorities will have constructed high-speed, wholesale, fibre optic networks in more than 90 cities and towns under the MANs programme. Wholesale connectivity to international points of presence, also known as backhaul, is available to service providers using the MANs through the main backhaul providers, currently Eircom, BT Ireland and ESB Telecoms. All MANs have the option of connectivity to the Eircom backhaul network and a number of MANs also have additional backhaul connectivity to the other networks. Backhaul connections can be negotiated between the service provider and backhaul provider as required.

Service providers are using the fibre-optic MANs to allow last mile connectivity over a range of platforms, including fibre, wireless, mobile, digital subscriber line or DSL and cable.

A policy paper on next generation broadband is being finalised in my Department and will be published shortly for public consultation. The objective of the paper is to set out a framework for the development of next generation broadband in Ireland, including addressing the optimum role for Government in facilitating the delivery of new broadband services by the private sector. The deployment of State assets, including MANs, to assist the telecommunications sector move to next generation broadband will also be addressed in the context of the next generation broadband paper.

A value for money and policy review of phase 1 of the MANs programme is also being finalised and is due to be published shortly. Both the review and the policy paper on next generation broadband will guide the further development of broadband policy, including in the specific area of future investment in the MANs programme.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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On a point of information, I did not quite catch the number of MANs programmes.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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There are 90.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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How many of the 90 are complete?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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There are 90 due to be completed by the middle of this year.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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We must be realistic about this argument concerning MANs and the overall deployment of broadband. MANs will eventually be a solution. I do not have the specifics today but many MANs have fibre optics underground and are not live. Some of them certainly do not have backhaul or backbone driving them. That is a serious issue and I require specifics on how many MANs are live.

When MANs become live, they will be a solution for our urban areas. How are we competing in light of international standards already set with respect to next generation broadband? For example, Singapore, Finland and Sweden have up to 50 megabit services in their broadband deployment solutions. How do we compete in terms of public policy intervention? There is public policy intervention in the UK and Ofcom has realised there must be public policy intervention.

I am somewhat disappointed the Minister noted in his preamble that broadband is a matter for the private sector. Broadband is not completely a matter for the private sector and the public sector is also relevant. If we do not have public sector policy intervention, we will never have broadband in rural areas.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for his patience. Simply put, what confidence can the Minister instill into the Irish electorate, who are trying valiantly to get broadband in rural areas, that the new national broadband scheme which the Minister has massive confidence in will service rural areas? MANs are not the solution.

On a final note——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I will call the Deputy again.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The national broadband scheme is designed exactly to cover rural areas. We are currently tendering and the winning company will cover areas which are not currently covered. That is the purpose of the scheme and it is exactly what it is designed to do.

Going back to what Deputy Coveney stated, the provision of broadband completely across the country is a first step, not the conclusion. We must then leap forward and get next generation broadband, which is faster and has new characteristics. For example, there will be movement from one network to another, as a person may well be on a mobile network connecting to a fixed-line network.

In that context, the development of MANs has been very useful. It was an important investment in 2003, when 3,000 people were connected to broadband, to push the existing operators into the market to start delivering products. Eircom and the main cable companies, in particular, were not doing this.

The market will not deliver everything, but the experience internationally in those countries which are most successful is that competition between the likes of a cable company and a mainline provider delivers the quickest and cheapest products. Pushing the companies to compete with each other is a very good public policy to benefit the public approach. There are instances where it does not deliver and with such cases, we intervene with projects like the national broadband scheme. There will be others.

I will give an example that may make use of MANs in a very effective way. CMOD, the State body with responsibility for procurement of public service development, is engaging with every Department and State agency and telling them to use a number of different service providers when contracting for telecommunications and broadband services. This helps to generate the business case, particularly in smaller rural Irish towns so the services can be delivered to other businesses as well. The State is providing a lead by its own procurement policy to make the business case for people to connect to towns and MANs that might not otherwise be connected.

In the long run, MANs will be a good investment because we will need quality fibre optics. They provide this. I want to see all operators, including Eircom, using them in a very effective way to deliver new services.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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In fairness to the Minister, he knows his subject area. Not unlike the Liverpool football team, which I follow, it is a good thing on paper. Much of the Minister's theory is very good on paper.

Getting down to the basics, we are discussing next generation broadband but we are in the business of playing catch-up with countries I mentioned, such as Finland, Sweden and Singapore. My fear and that of the public is that the company which wins the tender for the national broadband scheme will resort to using outdated broadband technologies to act as a solution for 100% coverage.

Is now not the time to ensure we are aiming for next generation broadband? The Minister referred to the technicalities, as it will be a new type of system. In what way is that stipulated within the tendering contract?

On the original question, of the 90 MANs, how many are live or running with backhaul?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I cannot, in the middle of a tendering process, go into the specific contract details because the issue is subject to a competitive tendering process. On a broad basis, we wish to be in a position where we can ramp up speeds. The number of MANs is currently approximately 60 or 65. It changes as many will have been opened in the first quarter or half of this year.

To apply a football metaphor on our work, unlike the poor defender last night, we will put our right foot on the ball rather than try to head the ball out of the goal. I am confident we can make a leap and not just play catch-up with broadband.