Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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566. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to evaluate the State funding required per metropolitan area network, MAN, to complete the business cases for the activation of each MAN which has not yet been used, assuming normal retail pricing for the end-users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11338/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The MANs are State-owned, underground telecommunications networks which facilitate telecommunications service providers in delivering high speed broadband services to their retail customers, without having to build their own networks.  The 88 MANs which cover 94 regional cities and towns are managed, maintained, marketed and operated under a concession agreement by a Management Services Entity (MSE).

The MSE provides fibre-based services and products to licensed telecommunications operators on a wholesale, open access basis. It works with operators to encourage them to use the MANs to provide downstream services. The MSE does not, itself, offer services directly to retail customers. enet is currently the MSE for the MANs and further details relating to the MANs are available at , or by phone at (061) 274000.

The MANs are now used by some 62 licensed telecoms operators and it is estimated that in excess of 600,000 end users are benefitting from services provided through the MANs. While 3 of the 88 MANs - Banagher, Belmullet and Knock – are not currently in use, they are available and ready to meet demand for services as it arises.  The decision to avail of the MANs is ultimately based on the service provider’s own commercial business case.

Under EU State Aid rules, the State can only intervene in cases of clear market failure. Any question of subsidising connections to the MANs would come within the area of State Aid.  The current focus of my Department is on the delivery of the National Broadband Plan and in particular, the procurement process, which is now underway, and is the subject of detailed State Aid discussions with the European Commission.  MANs and other available telecoms infrastructure may contribute to the delivery of services under the Plan but I cannot mandate the use of any particular assets as part of competitive bids by prospective tenderers.

Demand for bandwidth continues to increase exponentially with the development of the digital economy and the increase in MANs usage is expected to continue, irrespective of the NBP procurement.  As service providers bring optical fibre closer to their end users to meet this demand, the MAN networks are well placed to serve the needs of service providers and their end users throughout their regional footprint.