Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the cost of installing a Metropolitan Area Network cable for broadband services in Newcastle West, County Limerick; the operating structure of the MAN; the numbers of businesses and others whose broadband service is provided in Newcastle West through the MAN.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41876/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Metropolitan Area Networks (“MANs”) are State owned, underground telecommunications networks that are located in regional cities and towns. They consist of carrier-neutral duct and fibre rings linking the main commercial and public buildings to “co-location centres” where service providers locate their telecommunications equipment and access the network. These state-of-the-art facilities are available to service providers to enable them offer high-speed broadband to their retail customers without having to build their own networks.

The Newcastle West MAN was constructed at a cost of approximately €1.008m, as part of the Shannon Broadband Phase II MANs Project. My Department contributed 90% of the cost of the MAN and the remaining 10% was funded by the Local Authority through Shannon Broadband Ltd. There were eight Phase II MANs built in this region: Abbeyfeale, Banagher, Birr, Kilrush, Nenagh, Newcastle West, Roscrea and Templemore.

The MANs are owned by the State and are operated and managed, on behalf of the State, by a Managed Services Entity (MSE), e|net. The company provides telecoms services to licensed telecoms operators, who then offer telecoms products and services to businesses and individuals. e|net manages and maintains the MANs on an on-going basis and promotes the use of the MANs among telecoms operators, for the benefit of businesses and individuals in MANs locations.

The Newcastle West MAN is currently active and providing telecommunications services to business users and individuals in Newcastle West. The number of businesses and individuals availing of the MAN in Newcastle West is a matter for individual telecoms operators.

I must also emphasise that the MANs are a long term investment and the networks will be available for generations to come, as well as facilitating the current demand for digital based business. I envisage that greater use will be made of the MANs in the coming years to provide bigger broadband to more businesses and citizens, as demand increases for online services and cloud computing services.

The National Broadband Plan, which I launched on 31st August, aims to build on initiatives such as the MANs by driving further investment in the provision of high speed broadband.

The Plan commits to high speed broadband availability across the country – specifically: 70Mbps – 100Mbps will be available from the commercial market operators to more than half of the population by 2015; At least 40Mbps, and in many cases faster speeds, to at least a further 20% (and potentially as much as 35%) of the population during the lifetime of the Government; and A minimum of 30Mbps for every remaining home and business in the country, also during the lifetime of the Government.