Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Regulation of the electronic communications market, including the gathering of market data and publication of national statistical reports, is the responsibility of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). ComReg, has established a callcosts website which provides information to the public on the alternative broadband services marketed by competing service providers on a county by county basis. ComReg does not collect or publish data on the average broadband speeds provided nationally or within counties.

The ESRI published a working paper in May 2012, based on ComReg's callcosts data, which compared median broadband speeds marketed by county across Ireland. The report was published prior to the upgrade of high speed broadband services by UPC, the launch of eircom's eFibre programme and the ComReg multiband spectrum auction aimed at faciliting the rollout of 4G mobile broadband services. It concluded however that that a clear pattern had emerged of widespread improvements in choice and quality for broadband consumers in Ireland. It further concluded that variations in access to higher broadband speeds is more likely to be a consequence of residing in an urban, suburban or rural area in any county rather than a variation in marketed speeds between counties.

The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing

- a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and

- a State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest.

The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August 2012, aims to radically change this broadband landscape by ensuring that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. This will be achieved by providing a policy and regulatory framework that assists in accelerating and incentivising commercial investment, and a State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest.

Since the publication of ESRI's working paper and the National Broadband Plan, investments by the commercial sector are underway and in some instances have been accelerated in both fixed line and wireless high speed broadband services. In the fixed line segment of the market, eircom has announced plans to pass 1.4m premises with its next generation broadband service, with speeds of up to 100Mbps, while UPC has increased its entry level and maximum speeds to 120Mbps and 200Mbps respectively. Mobile operators have also made announcements regarding network upgrades and are rolling out enhanced product offerings following the conclusion of ComReg's succesful multiband spectrum auction. Last week, I introduced legislation in the Dáil, to allow the ESB to utilise its electricity network to install a new high speed broadband communications network.

These developments have been facilitated through the implementation of measures in the National Broadband Plan, including the conclusion of ComReg's multiband spectrum auction, and the new regulatory regime for fixed line Next Generation Access and service bundles. Both of these measures are designed to incentivise the rollout of services by operators.

In tandem with these developments, intensive work is underway in my Department to progress a State-led investment to secure the countrywide introduction of next generation broadband access. In order to progress the State-led investment for areas where it is not commercial for the market to invest, a full procurement process must be designed and EU State Aids approval must be obtained. My Department is engaged in a comprehensive mapping exercise of the current and anticipated investment by the commercial sector over the coming years, the results of which will inform the areas that need to be targeted in the State-led investment as envisaged in the National Broadband Plan.

Intensive technical, financial and legal preparations, including stakeholder engagement, are ongoing. The procurement process for the approved intervention will be carried out in accordance with EU and Irish procurement rules and it is expected that it will be launched in 2014.

Through the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, I am committed to ensuring that all parts of Ireland have access to high speed broadband, with a view to ensuring that all citizens and businesses can participate fully in, and maximise the benefits of, a digitally enabled economy and society.