Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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529. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the anticipated timeframe for the completion of the tender process for broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42338/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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My Department is engaged in an on-going procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network for the State led intervention under the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

Last Tuesday, 26 September, 2017, ‘Detailed Solutions’ were submitted  to my Department by two bidders as part of that ongoing procurement process.  These bidders were Eircom Limited and the Granahan McCourt, enet, SSE, John Laing Group plc consortium.  This is a significant and positive milestone in the process and the path to a digitally equal Ireland.

My Department's specialist NBP team, comprising a broad mix of expertise and experience including specialists in procurement, project management, engineering, commercial and financial analysts as well as legal advisors will now evaluate these two submissions over the coming weeks. The procurement process has now entered its final stages. 

To improve both mobile and broadband services in rural Ireland in advance of the rollout of the high speed broadband network to be built in the State intervention area, I established a Taskforce to identify immediate solutions to mobile phone and broadband coverage deficits and investigate how better services could be provided to consumers. These solutions will enhance the existing services prior to the full build and rollout of the network planned under the National Broadband Plan State intervention.