Parliamentary Questions

damien

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION Nos. 191 & 192

Dail Eireann

To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if availability of broadband here is comparable to its availability in other European jurisdictions; if his attention has been drawn to the need to accelerate the programme in order to protect the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Bernard J. Durkan.

* For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 13th April, 2005.

Ref No : 11458/05 Proof: 146

To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if the provision of broadband to date is in accord with the revised projections of his Department; when he expects provision to be made available throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. - Bernard J. Durkan.

* For WRITTEN answer on Wednesday, 13th April, 2005.

Ref No : 11459/05 Proof: 147
__________________________________________________________________

REPLY

Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr N Dempsey)

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 191 and 192 together.

The provision of telecommunications, including broadband, is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg).

The number of broadband customers in the country is increasing rapidly, and now stands at over 140,000. For comparison, the January 2004 figure was 35,000.

The rate of uptake is dependent on access by the service providers to suitable infrastructure. However, the level of investment by the sector in high-speed broadband infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the demand for broadband, so my Department's Regional Broadband Programme is addressing the infrastructure deficit, in cooperation with the local and regional authorities, by building high-speed open access Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) in 120 towns and cities nationwide, using ERDF and Government funding under the NDP 2000-2006.

The MANs programme is being rolled out on a phased basis, and the 19 networks completed to date have come in on time and within budget. Work is currently under way on seven MANs, and construction of a further 82 will commence during the next twelve months. Full details of the Regional Broadband Programme can be found on my Department's website www.dcmnr.gov.ie

For smaller towns and rural communities my Department offers grant-aid of up to 55% of set-up costs to enable local groups to become self-sufficient in broadband, using the most suitable technology for their area.

Under the Broadband For Schools project, every one of the 4,200 primary and post primary schools in the country will be provided with broadband by the end of this year.

According to the ComReg website www.comreg.ie there are over 45 different broadband offerings across a variety of technologies, including DSL, fibre, cable, leased lines and satellite technology. In essence, there are broadband technologies that can deliver broadband to any broadband consumer in Ireland right now.

I have set the industry a target of 500,000 broadband customers by the end of 2006.

The Government's broadband target is to be within the top half of EU countries by the end of 2007. That means a market penetration of around 14% of the overall population, which I feel is within reach.

bealtine

damien.m wrote:

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION Nos. 191 & 192


standard answer #56

dahamsta

I propose to not answer Questions Nos. 191 and 192 together.

.

Sponge Bob

damien.m wrote:

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION Nos. 191 & 192

To ask the Minister for Communications ... if his attention has been drawn to the need to accelerate the programme in order to protect the economy;

what economy , sure aren't the builders doin mighty

Gone West

It seems the minister has dodged the availabilty question slightly with more talk of MAN's. Most planned MAN's are for towns which allready have broadband, afaik. Im open to correction on this, obviously.

eircomtribunal

We are soon approaching mid 2005, that's when ComReg should have achieved to bring Ireland to at least the EU-15 average with regards to end-user broadband take-up and availability. Not a mention about that embarrassing failure of course in the Dail.

A good and straightforward enough question by the TD Bernard Durkan.

Simple answer would have been:
Ireland has a broadband coverage of below 60% of population, one of the lowest in the EU-15. NI in comparison has a population coverage of 100%. Instead the DCMNR lied:

In essence, there are broadband technologies that can deliver broadband to any broadband consumer in Ireland right now.

To some other quotes from the ministerial reply:

I have set the industry a target of 500,000 broadband customers by the end of 2006.

What's that going to mean? Nothing. He has no say over "the industry". Just some maths: to reach 500 000 by the end of 2006, we would need a solid 18 000 new bb subscriptions every month from now on or 4500 per week. SMART are hoping to sign up a mere 40 000 by the end of the year Eircom's sign ups are down to below 1000 a week.

The Government's broadband target is to be within the top half of EU countries by the end of 2007. That means a market penetration of around 14% of the overall population, which I feel is within reach.

Realism creeping in. From the top "10% within the OECD" target to "above average within the EU-25 countries."(That could be do-able; beat Greece, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia...)


The amount of blue-eyed fairy-telling and plans that look cute on paper can nicely be seen in this EU document about broadband adoption, where the different EU countries lay out their stalls (not exactly sure how the paper is compiled, what the input of the regulator/DCMNR exactly is). Ireland (from the mid 2004 EC annex to the broadband paper):

"1. Background
Broadband penetration in Ireland was at 0.9% of the population in January 2004. This result may look surprising in a country where the diffusion of ICT has played an important role in the economic development of the last few years. PC penetration and Internet use per households are significantly above the EU average. {What a delusion, brought about by the deliberate, planned and ongoing misinformation policy by ComReg}
As of June 2003 the number of DSL subscribers was just above the number of cable subscribers and slightly below Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), although the geographical reach of FWA and cable is very limited. The situation has changed in the second half of 2003, with DSL increasing significantly its market share. Access prices are relatively high, particularly for high-speed offers.

2. The strategy
Ireland aims at attaining a top position amongst OECD countries for broadband connectivity by 2005, with broadband being available throughout the territory. Ireland also aims to be the first European country to have wide availability of at least 5Mbs to the home and higher speeds for business users within ten years. To achieve widespread connectivity it is clear to the government that action must be taken urgently.
The strategy has five main strands: broadband infrastructure; the legal and regulatory environment; e-Business, lifelong learning and e-Inclusion.

(1) Increasing coverage of under-served areas

Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, an indicative € 200 million, part-funded by the ERDF, has been set aside for broadband infrastructure projects.
• The Irish Metropolitan Area network initiative involves the construction of high-speed fibre-optic rings linking the key business districts in 19 towns and cities across the country within a partnership with local and regional government organisations. These Metropolitan Networks will provide broadband to businesses, schools, hospitals and private users on an open-access basis. More than € 64 million has been committed to the first phase of this programme in 2003-2004, with infrastructure expected to be operational in the second half of 2004. A neutral Management Service Entity will manage the networks. This initiative is further complemented by € 140 million of Exchequer Funding to be invested until 2007 to provide open access broadband infrastructure in all cities and towns with a population greater than 1,500, with a Group Broadband Scheme to facilitate smaller communities to pool their broadband demands and ensure connectivity from a range of providers.
€ 140 million of Exchequer funding will be invested between now and 2007 (€ 35 million per annum) providing open access broadband infrastructure in all cities and towns with a population greater than 1,500. In particular:
Connecting 88 towns of 1500+ population to broadband with Community Broadband Exchanges and strategic fibre optic metropolitan area networks
• A Group Broadband Scheme facilitating the pooling of demand in smaller communities with grant support from central government
• A website is available for registering demand and obtaining information on prices from alternative providers
• New regional high-speed broadband connectivity framework deals on backbone networks were announced, improving the economic case for providing broadband in the regions. Broadband will be available on the ESB Telecom fibre optic network, whose construction was supported through Structural Funds.
• Other measures include co-investment with private partners in backbone infrastructure in the regions.
• Development of infrastructure in 15 locations through the Clàr areas (characterised by declining population). € 500,000 is available.

(2) Stimulating use in the public sector
Major upgrades to European and US connections for educational and research institutions are foreseen, enabling digital libraries, virtual laboratories and telemedicine.

(3) Connecting schools
Providing schools with affordable broadband connections. Ongoing discussions with industry are likely to result in a voluntary agreement with the ICT sector to deliver broadband to all primary and post primary schools by the end of 2005.
Establishing an IT Industry Advisory Group to formalise links between the IT industry and schools to extend the boundaries of traditional education through the use of ICT.

(4) Initiatives addressing the development of new applications and content
The Digital Hub project provides start-up facilities for companies, currently including digital media companies covering e-Learning, e-Publishing, web development, to undertake R&D into digital industries.

(5) Other measures
• Co-funded trials in Powerline Communications Systems
• Promoting participation in the Information Society though a local authority-led initiative aimed at developing IT skills and providing local content;
• Piloting the development of low-cost ISPs, web-hosting and technical support solutions for community and voluntary groups;
• Developing a programme of structured support to build and enhance ICT capacity among community and voluntary organisations;
• Other e-Inclusion projects (such as the pilot that provided 100 000 people in the South West and Shannon regions with basic ICT training);
• Developing guidelines for electronically delivered services to minimise the risk of introducing accessibility barriers by service providers in the public and private sectors."

P

damien

eircomtribunal wrote:

Ireland (from the mid 2004 EC annex to the broadband paper):

Peter, can you link to this doc ?

eircomtribunal

The link is on http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/2005/all_about/broadband/index_en.htm

It's either of these
"Communication on Connecting Europe at high speed: National Broadband Strategies"
or

"See also the Staff Working Paper Annexes of the National Broadband Strategies Communication"

P.