Written answers

Wednesday, 14 March 2012

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Telecommunications Services

9:00 pm

Photo of Jack WallJack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he or his Department has any plan to improve the broadband reception in an area (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14560/12]

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband services, is a matter, in the first instance, for private sector service providers operating in a liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation. Broadband services are provided by private service providers over various platforms including DSL (i.e. over telephone lines), fixed wireless, mobile, cable, fibre and satellite.

In cases of market failure the Government will intervene, where it is appropriate and possible to do so. The National Broadband Scheme (NBS) represents such an intervention. It aimed to bring an affordable, scalable broadband service to certain designated rural areas where the extent of broadband coverage by commercial operators, at the time the Scheme was launched in 2008, was deemed to be insufficient.

The area of Calverstown, Kilcullen, County Kildare is located within the NBS Coverage Area. Since October 2010, 3, the NBS service provider, has made broadband services available in all of the areas designated to be covered under the Scheme.

The NBS contract guarantees service levels and imposes a service credit regime on 3 with financial consequences in the event that minimum specification service levels are not met. Under the NBS contract, specific service level agreement standards are in place, which define the service and support levels to be provided by 3 to NBS customers. Any NBS customer experiencing problems with the NBS service can contact 3's customer care centre 24 hours a day 7 days a week by phone at 1913 (free of charge), via email to nbssupport@three.ie or by post to 3 Customer Services, Hutchison 3G Ireland Limited, PO Box 333, Dublin 2.

My Department has a role when customers have fully utilised the established complaints process. It operates a dedicated NBS mailbox, which NBS customers can contact by email at nationalbroadbandscheme@dcenr.gov.ie with any comments or complaints they may have about their NBS service. Should any customers in the Calverstown, Kilcullen area have unresolved problems with their NBS service, they can contact my Department and my officials will liaise with 3 to remedy their service performance issues.

A contractual upgrade of the NBS product specifications will take place from October of this year, without an increase in the monthly fee. Following the upgrade of the mobile broadband product, the minimum download speed will increase from 1.6Mbps to 2.3Mbps while the minimum upload speeds will increase from 1.2Mbps to 1.4Mbps, with a maximum contention ratio of 18:1. The combined data allowance will move from 25GB to 40GB.

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