Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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316. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the action he is taking to speed up the rolling out of high-speed broadband into communities in which there is currently little or no service; if there is a timeframe on the urgent points identified in the implementation programme on the mobile telephone and broadband access document; if he will direct the broadband and mobile telephone service providers to extend connectivity to all households when they are working within an area; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that service providers currently consider it acceptable to connect some households within an area and not others; the timeframe on the roll-out of high-speed broadband to a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5042/17]

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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317. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the action he is taking to speed up the roll-out of high-speed broadband into communities in which there is currently little or no service; if there is a timeframe on the urgent points identified in the implementation programme on the mobile telephone and broadband access document; if he will direct the broadband and mobile telephone service providers to extend connectivity to all households when they are working within an area; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that service providers currently consider it acceptable to connect some households within an area and not others; the timeframe on the roll-out of high-speed broadband to a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5047/17]

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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318. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the action he will take to speed up the roll-out of high speed broadband into communities in which there is currently little or no service; the timeframe on the urgent points identified in the implementation programme on the mobile telephone and broadband access document; if he will direct the broadband and mobile telephone service providers to extend connectivity to all households when they are working within an area; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that service providers currently consider it is acceptable to connect some households within an area and not others; the timeframe on the roll-out of high-speed broadband to a location (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5049/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 316, 317 and 318 together.

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed broadband services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.  This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated. 

A key principle of the NBP is to support and stimulate commercial investment through policy and regulatory measures. Commercial investment since the publication of the NBP has considerably exceeded expectations. To date, the commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2.5bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services.

Currently, approximately 1.4m premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband from commercial service providers and investment by the telecoms sector is continuing to expand this footprint.

The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at shows the extent of the State Intervention area.

The areas marked BLUE on the High Speed Broadband Map represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services.

The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention, which are the subject of the current procurement process.

Individuals can check whether their premises are in a BLUE or an AMBER area by accessing the High Speed Broadband Map and entering their Eircode. 

The Eircode referred to by the Deputy falls within a BLUE area and is therefore expected to be covered by commercial operators.

The map currently indicates that 77% of the townland of Muchgrange falls within an AMBER area and will therefore will be included in the State Intervention procurement process under the NBP.  The remaining 23% of Muchgrange falls within a BLUE area and is therefore expected to be covered by commercial operators.

The map also currently indicates that 100% of the townland of Annagh McCanns falls within an AMBER area and will therefore will be included in the State Intervention procurement process under the NBP.

While I cannot compel any operator to provide services to particular premises, the National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that all premises can access high speed broadband.  My Department is therefore closely monitoring the roll-out of services in the BLUE area, including Dundalk. I would encourage consumers in Dundalk who cannot access high speed broadband services to contact my Department directly at , quoting their address and Eircode, and giving details of providers they have contacted with a view to obtaining services.  This information will assist the Department in keeping track of progress in those areas and following up if necessary.  

My Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area including over 15,100 premises in Co. Louth, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland.

Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and the three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution.  This provides a future proofed solution for the 25 years of the contract and beyond.  A fibre-to-the-home solution means that householders and businesses may get speeds not just of 30 Megabits per second but much higher, potentially up to 1000 Megabits per second. The procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years.

The timeframe for the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team and bidders, during the procurement process. During the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated a 3-5 year timeline to roll-out a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP.

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.

The Programme for a Partnership Government gave a commitment to establish a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to identify immediate solutions to broadband/mobile phone coverage deficits and to investigate how better services could be provided to consumers prior to full build and roll-out of the network planned under the National Broadband Plan State intervention (NBP).

The Taskforce, which I co-chaired with my colleague, Minister Humphreys, was established in July last year and published its report in December and is available on both our Departments' websites.  The report can be accessed in my Department via the following link:.

The Taskforce included representatives from across Government and agencies as well as engagement with the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) and the telecoms industry. ComReg participated on the Taskforce as an observer in order to provide advice and guidance in its capacity as the independent regulator of the telecommunications market. 

The Taskforce  met on approximately twenty occasions with a number of helpful initiatives emerging in the areas of planning, local authority engagement, and consumer information and engagement.

The report of the Taskforce and an Implementation Programme on Mobile Phone and Broadband Access, identifies 19 of the 40 actions contained in the report as areas where immediate and direct action by Government Departments and State Agencies can ensure accelerated benefits to consumers.

The work of the Taskforce will also assist Local Authorities in preparing for the roll-out of the new NBP network once contract(s) are in place.

Arrangements are now in place to deliver the Year 1 actions identified in the Implementation Programme. 

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

I have signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed with an early 2017 auction of the 3.6GHz radio spectrum band, to provide an 86% increase in total spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless services. I have also secured €8m for RTE which will allow it to free up the 700MHz spectrum band, to provide enhanced mobile services. 

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 €2.5bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services.

These investments should assist in significantly improving the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country, including County Louth.