Written answers

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Broadband Service Provision

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 835 of 31 May 2016, if he will address a matter (details supplied). [15932/16]

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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In accordance with  EU State Aid Guidelines for  Broadband, Member States are required to thoroughly evaluate any commercial plans so as to ensure that State Aid is confined to those areas where commercial investment in high speed broadband services is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.  The Department has had extensive engagement with operators to identify those areas where there are concrete plans to roll out high speed broadband on a commercial basis.  Such areas will be excluded from the proposed State intervention.

In October 2015 the Department published the process it proposed to adopt in order to assess commercial high speed broadband investment plans.  Plans received from commercial operators were subsequently assessed under technical, deployment and financial criteria, in line with the EU State Aid requirements.  This resulted in the publication of the High Speed Broadband Map  in December 2015. No additional commercial plans have been submitted since the map was launched in December 2015.

The Map is a critical aspect of EU State Aid compliance and the mapping process remains open, in accordance with terms that have been published on the Department's website (www.broadband.gov.ie) so as to ensure that existing plans are realised and that any new developments can be managed.

As noted in previous replies to Parliamentary Questions, the Department continues to monitor commercial operator deployment plans of high speed broadband in the BLUE area. In March/April of this year the Department issued a detailed questionnaire to those operators whose coverage is represented BLUE on the High Speed Broadband Map.  Submissions received in response to the questionnaire are currently being analysed and I expect that a key component of this analysis will be concluded over the coming months.

From a preliminary analysis of  submissions received, areas such as Myrtleville and Fountainstown in County Cork are of particular concern to the Department, as services have not yet been delivered.  In the event that commercial plans do not materialise as anticipated in the BLUE area or where no alternative operator is present, the Department has reserved the right to include these premises as part of the State Intervention.  As soon as I have more specific information in relation to these two areas, I will contact the Deputy directly.

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