Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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My Department has entered into a contract with "3", a Hutchison Whampoa company, for the delivery of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). 3 is currently planning the construction and rollout of the required infrastructure for the purposes of the provision of the service. Challenging roll out targets are contained in the contract with 3. Services will begin to be rolled out in April 2009 and the entire NBS area must be covered by September 2010.

While Broomfield, Castleblaney, County Monaghan will be covered by the NBS, 3 is not in a position, at this juncture, to predict the progression of site rollout in advance of obtaining the necessary planning permissions. One month prior to the NBS being launched in any given area, 3 will implement a marketing campaign to announce the forthcoming service availability. The campaign will include, inter alia, local press and outdoor advertising.