Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the nature of any talks he has had with Eircom in relation to investment in a fibre network; ComReg's role in these talks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44993/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The telecommunications market, including the provision of fibre based next generation networks, is fully liberalised and subject to both EU and national competition and regulatory rules. My Department liaises with industry participants including eircom and with ComReg on an ongoing basis and these discussions encompass all matters relating to broadband infrastructure development. As part of the ongoing bilateral engagement with industry players on broadband development, my Department has had discussions with eircom, other market participants and ComReg. I recognise the importance of eircom as the incumbent telecommunications provider and I welcome their stated intention to invest in new next generation networks. Eircom's recent announcement regarding the provision of next generation Ethernet products to its wholesale operators is particularly welcome.

My Department and ComReg will continue to liaise with a view to promoting the appropriate degree of regulatory and investment certainty available to eircom and all other investors in telecommunications infrastructure, due account being taken of the statutory independence of ComReg.

More generally, I have made it clear on a number of occasions that I favour a collaborative approach to the roll out of broadband infrastructure, where appropriate. The Next Generation Broadband (NGB) Taskforce, which I signalled in my June 2009 policy paper, will be established and meet in the coming weeks. The overall objective of the Taskforce is to foster a dialogue and follow up actions which will promote the advancement of Next Generation Broadband. The NGB Taskforce will consist of representatives of the industry. Its focus will include collaborative approaches to infrastructure roll out, taking account of the existing policy framework and regulatory regime.

This approach is consistent with Government policy on the development of the electronic communications market in Ireland, which is set out in "Next Generation Broadband – Gateway to a Knowledge Ireland". The policy paper was developed in accordance with various key principles, which are crucial to the development of the market including -

(i) competition,

(ii) investment certainty,

(iii) investment intervention by Government to bridge any digital divide in cases of market failure, and

(iv) appropriate regulation.

This policy has facilitated significant progress in broadband roll out, penetration and quality over recent years. For example, Ireland has over 1.5 million broadband subscribers and our broadband per-capita penetration rate is 34%. In a recent study of broadband services in 72 countries by the University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo, Spain, which ranks Ireland 13th of the 72 countries studied, ahead of France, Canada, the United States and the UK. Ireland ranks 15th of the EU 27 for fixed broadband penetration and 6th for mobile only penetration. Of the homes with broadband connections, 68.4% of them are using broadband speeds between 2mbps and 10mbps. 72.8% of SMEs with a broadband connection are also using products with speeds of between 2mbps and 10mbps.