Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which wireless broadband is available here; the cities, towns and villages which have service, aspire to service or are unlikely to receive service in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33560/06]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market, regulated by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, (ComReg).

Information regarding the availability of wireless broadband is, in the first instance, a matter for ComReg who have established a number of licensing schemes to facilitate the development of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in Ireland.

Additionally, ComReg have made available licence exempt spectrum (i.e. 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz), which may be used to provide fixed wireless access services, subject to certain conditions being met.

ComReg have awarded over 200 local area licences to a total of 12 FWA operators and there were over 52,000 subscribers using fixed wireless access for broadband services at the end of June 2006, a growth rate of almost 200% in 12 months. In effect this means that FWA is the largest alternative platform for provision of broadband competition to DSL in Ireland. Coverage areas for these licences, is available from ComReg. The information can also be viewed on the ComReg website at: http://www.comreg.ie.