Written answers

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

National Broadband Plan

Photo of Michael FitzmauriceMichael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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151. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the details of the progress made under the National Broadband Plan to date in terms of connections completed; if the programme is on track with its targets; if the programme remains within budget; if not, if costs have escalated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23999/21]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the over 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools. The deployment plan forecasts construction commenced in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years. I am advised by NBI  that, as of 22 April 2021, over 207,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed which is ahead of schedule.  Nearly 4,000 premises have been passed with high speed broadband by the NBI network in Counties Cork and Cavan.

Further details are available on specific areas across the country through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. I am advised that NBI is working to provide more detail on its website, with a rolling update on network build plans. NBI also has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.

While substantial progress has been made to date, the Covid 19 pandemic has had an impact on the delivery of the fibre network resulting in delays on delivery of aspects of the programme. Impacts include challenges with mobilisation of key contractors with restrictions on operations, supply chain and logistic delays (both nationally and internationally), as well as the recruitment of key personnel as NBI and its contractors scale, up including challenges associated with on-boarding and training people. Inevitably, like many other organisations, NBI and contractor staff are at risk of contracting Covid 19 or may have to restrict their movements as a result of being a close contact posing further challenges. My Department has worked closely with NBI to put in place a remedial plan under the Contract to address the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic on the project. There are no cost overruns associated with this project.

Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 22 April, 304 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for schools. Further details can be found at .

My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the NBP. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced in December which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026. Further details are available on the NBI website at .

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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152. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason a property (details supplied) is still not included in the intervention area for the roll-out of fibre optic cables despite being told that the premises had been excluded from the AMBER area due to an anomaly and that this would be remedied on the high-speed broadband map. [24016/21]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The premises referred to in the Question is located in the BLUE area on the NBP High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. BLUE areas are not included in the State intervention area covered by the National Broadband Plan as commercial operators are already providing high speed broadband or have indicated future plans to do so. My Department defines high speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload. The activities of commercial operators delivering high speed broadband within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and my Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard. It has come to my Department’s attention, however, that some BLUE premises are having difficulty connecting to a commercial high speed network, and may continue to do so in the future. My Department is currently examining these premises, including the one referred to in the Question, with the aim that access to high speed broadband is made available, either through commercial means or through the National Broadband Plan intervention. Where appropriate, premises may be reclassified on the high speed broadband map.

The NBP High Speed Broadband Map is dynamic. This means that the intervention area can be updated to reflect new commercial plans, or previous plans that have failed to materialise. This flexibility allows for an increase or decrease in the number of premises included in the State Intervention area.

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