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It’s been confirmed that Eir has withdrawn from the tendering process for the National Broadband Plan (NBP).
It’s believed that Eir pulled out of the tendering process due to concerns around the pricing and regulatory arrangements outside the NBP process.
This means that eNet is the sole bidder in the process and although the Government is to proceed with the tendering process, Eir’s withdrawal calls into question the Minister of Communications, Denis Naughten’s, ability to unroll a successful broadband plan for the country.
“This represents an unmitigated failure on the part of government, and leaves over 540,000 households in serious limbo,” the Fianna Fáil spokesperson for communications, Timmy Dooley stated.
“I do not believe that the current tender process can continue with just one bidder involved.
“The Government should collectively hang their heads in shame over the shambles that the National Broadband Plan has become,” Dooley concluded.
High-speed broadband was available to just over 50% of rural households in Ireland in the latest comparison conducted by the European Commission in June 2016.
Ireland ranked just 23rd out of 31 countries surveyed in the study for the availability of basic internet access.
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