Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

303. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that broadband is being rolled out in an area and that a school (details supplied) is not benefitting from this roll-out. [44571/17]

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

I refer to my reply to Questions 457 and 459 of 17 October 2017.

In that reply I advised the Deputy that the school referenced falls within an AMBER area on my Department’s High Speed Broadband Map available at www.broadband.gov.ieand is now part of my Department's ongoing procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network for those areas that will not be served by commercial operators.

By way of additional information, my Department's specialist National Broadband Plan (NBP) team are now engaged in evaluating the ‘Detailed Solutions’ received from the two bidders as part of that competitive procurement process, with the expectation that every early in 2018, bidders will be invited to submit final tenders.

With regard to the deployment of broadband infrastructure close to the referenced premises, decisions to invest in network upgrades or the timing of providing public access to such upgrades are commercial decisions and not one in which I have a role.