Written answers

Thursday, 16 May 2019

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Broadband Service Provision

Photo of Pearse DohertyPearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

148. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to extend high-speed fibre broadband to a household (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21203/19]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The premises referred to by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie.

The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led intervention under the NBP.

This intervention is the subject of the procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and maintain the NBP State intervention network. Following rigorous evaluation by the Department, I recently brought a recommendation to Government to confer Preferred Bidder status on Granahan McCourt, the remaining bidder in the NBP procurement process and Government agreed to this at its meeting on 7 May.

The Government decision means that it is intended to award the State Intervention contract to Granahan McCourt, subject to the contract close, including the finalisation of financial and legal documents. Deployment of the NBP State Intervention network will commence shortly after that.

The bidder has indicated that the NBP State intervention will take an estimated 7 years from the beginning of deployment.

In the first year of roll out, the Bidder will deploy approximately 300 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) across all counties. It is anticipated that between 7 and 23 BCPs will be deployed in each county. BCPs will provide a community based high speed broadband service, enhancing online participation and allowing for the establishment of digital work hubs in these locations. A deployment plan will be made available by the bidder once the contract is signed. The Bidder is aiming to pass 133,000 premises by end of the second year of the overall deployment, with 70-100,000 passed each year thereafter until roll out is completed.

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

149. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the roll-out of broadband in an area (details supplied); and the steps being made to address gaps in coverage in the area. [21245/19]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In April 2017, my Department published an updated version of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map. This is available at www.broadband.gov.ie.

The map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan. The Map is colour coded and searchable by address/Eircode:

- The AMBER area represents the parts of the country where commercial operators have no plans to build high speed broadband networks. Premises in the AMBER area will be provided with high Speed Broadband through a State Intervention.

- The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services.

- The LIGHT BLUE area represents eir's commercial rural deployment plans to rollout high speed broadband to 300,000 premises as part of a Commitment Agreement signed with my Department in April 2017.

The table below details the percentage of premises to be covered by the State Intervention and through commercial investment in the areas identified by the Deputy. eir's deployment within the townlands of Magillstown and Balheary is now complete.

TownlandPremises within the NBP Intervention Area Premises within Commercial Operator’s Area Premises within eir planned rural deploymentTotal
Magillstown59% (13)41% (9)0% (0)100% (22)
Balheary45% (17)55% (21)0% (0)100% (38)

Premises where commercial providers are not currently delivering or have indicated no plans to deliver high speed broadband services will be addressed through the National Broadband Plan State led Intervention.

This intervention is the subject of the procurement process to engage a company to build, operate and maintain the NBP State intervention network. Following rigorous evaluation by my Department, I recently brought a recommendation to Government to confer Preferred Bidder status on Granahan McCourt, the remaining bidder in the NBP procurement process and Government has agreed to this at its meeting on 7 May.

The Government Decision of 7 May 2019 means that it is intended to award the State Intervention contract to the Bidder. This award is subject to contract close including finalisation of financial and legal documents. Deployment of the NBP State Intervention network will commence shortly after that.

The Bidder has indicated that the NBP State intervention will take an estimated 7 years from the beginning of deployment.

In the first year of this roll out, the Bidder will deploy approximately 300 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) across all counties. It is anticipated that between 7 and 23 BCPs will be deployed in each county. BCPs will provide a community based high speed broadband service, enhancing online participation and allowing for the establishment of digital work hubs in these locations. A deployment plan will be made available by the bidder once the contract is signed. The Bidder is aiming to pass 133,000 premises by end of the second year of the overall deployment, with 70-100,000 passed each year thereafter until roll out is completed.

Photo of Declan BreathnachDeclan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

150. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of houses and properties that do not have poles or infrastructure nearby to provide broadband connections to such properties from the roadway without major investment. [21255/19]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department and National Broadband Ireland (NBI) have completed high level designs to determine the quantities of existing infrastructure that can be re-used and quantities of new infrastructure that will need to be deployed to deliver the NBP project.

In addition, NBI has completed a number of low-level designs to corroborate the assumptions made in the high level designs. The Department has separately completed several network models and associated cost models down to the premises level.

The high level designs take into account the various passive infrastructure databases (i.e. buildings, poles and ducts) as well as the Eircode database of premises. This analysis outlines that nearly 99% of the premises in the intervention area are 150 metres or less from the road and the vast majority of these are less than 50 metres from the road.

Once the deployment commences a detailed design process will be conducted by NBI which is referred to as the low-level design. This low level design includes a detailed site survey of each route and each premises to be served on that route. The site survey will confirm what infrastructure is in place and what infrastructure will be required in order to enable a connection to be made to each premises. Every effort will be made to reduce costs by utilising existing infrastructure. In the cases where there are ‘difficult to serve’ premises NBI will consider alternative solutions to deliver the high speed broadband service.

Photo of Declan BreathnachDeclan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

151. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to take a company (details supplied) back into State control; if such an offer would be cost effective in the long run in view of the fact that it would then be a State-owned company with the task of the broadband roll-out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21269/19]

Photo of Declan BreathnachDeclan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

152. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to use the ESB in the roll-out of broadband to properties that are waiting for connection under the State intervention scheme; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the ESB already has direct access to all properties and its infrastructure could be used in the provision of broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21273/19]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 152 together.

The possibility of allocating the National Broadband State intervention to the ESB was considered as part of the alternative options analysis conducted by my Department. The Attorney General has advised that there are significant legal risks in relation to both procurement law and state aid law, if the State was to mandate and fund directly outside a procurement process any economic undertaking, including a commercial semi-state body such as the ESB, to carry out the National Broadband Plan.

Furthermore, engagement between officials of my Department and DG Competition, which is the Directorate General of the European Commission with responsibility for State Aid matters, has clearly established that it is the view of DG Competition that it would not be possible to provide a State subsidy to a commercial semi-state body, such as the ESB, to roll out the National Broadband Plan without undertaking a new public procurement process.

However, the ESB pole network may still used by National Broadband Ireland where possible and more effective than using the eir pole and duct network.

Regarding the purchase of eir, eir is a privately traded company whose value is not known. In March 2018, it was reported that a 64% stake in the company was sold for €3.5 billion. Any purchase of the company would require negotiation with current owners and in the event the company was purchased by the State a new procurement process for the NBP State intervention would still be required under State Aid rules.

In both the scenarios outlined above, any new procurement process would be required to be open to other commercial entities and would likely add at least two further years to the National Broadband Plan process. In addition, given that both eir and SIRO (the joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone) were bidders in the current process and withdrew before submitting a final tender, it is unclear if either entity would tender for the State intervention contract under any new process.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.