Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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172. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to outline any engagement he has had with ComReg since 2020 about improving the 4G signal in Mayo; and the progress to date. [56147/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The roll-out of infrastructure for mobile telecommunications services in Ireland is primarily a matter for private mobile network operators, operating on a commercial basis in a liberalised market, regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). ComReg is statutorily independent in the exercise of its functions in accordance with section 11 of the Communications Regulation Act 2002.

To assist consumers to choose the network provider that best meets their needs, ComReg continually updates and enhances its online national outdoor mobile coverage map (available at: Service Coverage - Commission for Communications Regulation (comreg.ie), which provides clear information on where operators have good 2G, 3G and 4G coverage. In 2022, ComReg updated this map to include 5G data.

ComReg completed a Multi-band Spectrum Award in January 2023 to assign long term rights of use in four spectrum bands to enable the market to provide improved services to meet increasing consumer demand for mobile data and new services. This award will represent a 46% increase in the harmonised spectrum assigned for the provision of wireless broadband services in Ireland and will include significant coverage obligations for operators.

The Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce has been in operation since 2016 and has been a driving force for improving access to telecommunications services nationwide. The Mobile Phone & Broadband Taskforce continues to implement actions specifically designed to remove barriers to telecoms infrastructure rollout.