Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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19. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which he has received complaints in regard to quality, speed and availability of modern broadband facilities throughout urban and rural Ireland; the extent to which his plans to address the issue can be expedited over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21543/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.  This is being achieved through private investment by commercial telecommunications companies and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. The formal procurement process for the State Intervention commenced in December 2015.The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area, which is the subject of procurement. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The Department continues to monitor the commercial deployment plans in the BLUE area to ensure that those services are delivered. The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention. The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county. The Department also has a dedicated mailbox and anyone with a query in relation to the Map should email the Department, quoting their Eircode, to  broadband@dcenr.gov.ie.

Over 750,000 premises are the focus for the procurement process, which formally commenced in December 2015 with the publication of the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire ( 'PQQ') and Project Information Memorandum.  On 5July 2016, I announced that my Department has also identified a further 170,000 premises which are currently market BLUE on the High Speed Broadband Map and which are unlikely to get access to services. My Department is currently in the process of identifying these additional premises with a view to including them in the formal procurement process. 

On 5 July I also announced that the Department has now moved to the next stage in the procurement process. In this Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) phase, three qualifying bidders have been invited to meet with the Department to commence the formal dialogue process. The qualifying bidders will shortly be furnished with a draft contract, with detailed specifications for a quality and affordable high speed broadband network.

Following the ITPD stage, which will take a number of months, the Department will issue final tender documentation to bidders.  When final tenders have been submitted a winning bidder(s) will be selected for the contract which will comprise one or two lots as set out in the NBP Intervention Strategy. The Department will then enter into formal contract negotiations with the winning bidder(s), with a view to having contract(s) in place in June 2017.

The timing of each stage of the procurement is dependent on a number of factors including the number of bidders short-listed and the complexities that may be encountered during the dialogue process.  It must be noted that bidders will need several months to prepare their draft bids and their final formal bids and get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at these stages of the process.

As part of the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated that it could take 3-5 years to roll-out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. It is however open to bidder(s) to suggest more aggressive timescales as part of their bids.  As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and / or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network roll-out plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed roll-out plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.

In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks. The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services. These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the establishment of a mobile phone and broadband Taskforce which will consider immediate measures to address telecommunications deficits in rural Ireland.  My Department is engaging with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to the terms of reference for the Taskforce to ensure delivery of the Programme for Government commitment.  The Taskforce will involve a number of Government Departments and agencies, as well as engagement with ComReg and telecommunications operators. My Department has already conducted a number of meetings with vendors and mobile operators to help inform the process and identify what tangible measures can be taken. I expect that Minister Humphreys and I will bring proposals to Government by the end of 2016, on foot of the Taskforce's report.

The Programme for a Partnership Government commits also to measures to assist in the roll-out of the broadband network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of county or regional broadband taskforces, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices, LEADER Groups and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.

I fully accept that all citizens should have access to reliable and quality broadband services and I am acutely aware of the challenges faced by business and households alike due to poor quality broadband.  The provision of telecommunications services is of course primarily a matter for the service providers concerned who operate in a fully liberalised market.  These operators are regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). 

Any regulatory issues surrounding quality of service are the responsibility of ComReg. If, after having exhausted the service provider’s complaint handling procedures, a customer is not happy they may contact ComReg, on 1890 229 668; online at or by email at Consumerline@comreg.ie, for further assistance and guidance.  As the body that issues licences to broadband service providers, ComReg will investigate such complaints to ensure that the company in question is delivering services in line with its licence obligations.