Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

401. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide the most up-to-date information on the level of fixed broadband connections and subscriptions per 100 persons here; the position of Ireland in this regard among the OECD and EU countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9350/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

According to the latest ComReg Quarterly report Q3 2016 published in December 2016 there were over 1.7m broadband subscriptions in Ireland of which 1.3m were fixed broadband subscriptions and over 365,000 mobile subscriptions.

The OECD ranks Ireland 25^thof 34 countries for fixed broadband connections per 100 inhabitants. In the mobile market the OECD ranks Ireland 13^thof the 34 countries for mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants which is ahead of the OECD average.

Ireland was the 12^thhighest country in the OECD in increasing its fixed broadband penetration between June 2015 and June 2016. This represents an increase of 4.2% in fixed broadband penetration during the stated period.

According to the EU Statistic body Eurostat, the EU average for broadband penetration is 80%. Ireland’s penetration rate is 83% which is above the EU average.

The Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) is addressing access to high speed broadband (speeds of 30 megabits per second and above) through commercial investment by telecommunications networks providers and through a State intervention in areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated. It aims to provide access to high speed broadband services in every city, town, village and individual premise in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.

A formal procurement process is in train to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area. My Department will shortly update the High Speed Broadband map to finalise the Intervention Area for the Procurement process, taking into account industry investments that have not materialised in Blue areas, together with new industry investments within the proposed State Intervention Area, along with concrete and credible commitments by industry for further new investments within the Intervention Area.

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. 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 for 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 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 Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract is awarded.

In this regard, I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce in July 2016 together with Minister Humphreys. The findings of this Taskforce recommends practical actions that can be taken to remove barriers to and improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland. The Taskforce report is available at the following link:

.

Minister Humphreys has established two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to unlock barriers to investment in mobile and broadband services. Since July last, there has been significant progress made in discussions with the key stakeholders including local authority management representatives, Government Departments and State agencies, as well as interaction with ComReg and telecoms operators.

I have signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed with the allocation of spectrum in the 3.6GHz band, in early 2017. This will 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.

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