What exactly is the National Broadband Plan?

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Government’s solution to provide high-speed internet to areas of the country where the commercial sector won’t invest in on its own. The amber areas of the intervention map show where there is still no access to high-speed broadband.

Most Irish Country Living readers live in these parts of the country. The area includes 94% of farms, 40% of primary school (especially rural schools) and 63,440 non-farm businesses, such as SMEs, B&Bs, shops and clinics. Overall, 38% of the national population still has limited speeds.

What was the announcement last week about?

The Department of Communications has been working on the NBP for the last year with all the key stakeholders, including potential bidders, broadband providers, county councils and lobby groups, such as the IFA. The Broadband Intervention Strategy, which was published last week, outlines how the Government plans to deliver this massive project.

The strategy is up for public consultation, meaning that industry groups and individuals can make their voice heard before 14 September 2015. After this, the public procurement process will start and companies will tender for the contract.

What’s involved in the contract?

The contract will be won by one or more companies and they will be responsible for building the infrastructure that will deliver the broadband. The exact technology will all depend on what the winning company proposes. However, at the moment, it appears that the most likely solutions will be Fibre to the Home technology, as suggested by Eircom and Siro, or wireless technology.

The winning company will have the contract for 20 years, so not only will it have to build the infrastructure, it will also have to maintain it. There are a number of options on the table with regard to the Government’s ownership of this infrastructure. It ranges from the option of a State subsidy to a 50/50 investment. However, what seems certain is that the Government’s investment will be drip-fed over the 20 years so that a reliable service is continuously delivered.

How much does the Government plan to invest?

The Department of Communications will not divulge this amount in order to allow for the most competitive tender process. The only estimated figure released last year is an investment of €500m. Whoever wins the tender will probably get quite a profitable contract and it looks like seven will enter the tendering process: Eircom, UPC, the ESB, BT, Imagine, Siro and e-Net.

Could more than one company be building this new infrastructure?

Yes. One, two or even three companies could be involved in building this infrastructure. What is being proposed at present is that the country will be divided into three lots, the north, the middle and the south of the country. Companies can tender for each lot or they can put in a proposal for providing an all-Ireland solution.

This is an element of the proposal that is under debate. There is an argument that one wholesale operation should provide this service, meaning that it is the simplest, most straightforward solution. On the other hand, industry representatives say that having two or three companies allows for competition.

When the infrastructure is built, who will supply me with my broadband? Can I keep with my current local provider?

There is a very good chance you could stay with your current provider. The focus of this project is to create an open-access wholesale network that local providers have access to. There are nearly 90 internet companies in the country who have provided solutions in rural areas before this strategy came into existence. The plan is to keep as many of them in business as possible. Not only will this benefit the businesses, it also means there will be competition at play to allow for the best prices for consumers.

The Government also highlights that there should be no digital divide. The prices and bundles that are being offered to consumers in urban areas that are not under this plan, should be in line with the prices offered to rural customers.

So when will we actually be getting broadband?

All going well, the building of the infrastructure should start at the end of 2016. To date, the Government has met all their key milestones, including the publication of the intervention strategy last week, so it’s looking good so far. By 2018, it is expected that 85% under the NBP will have high-speed broadband, increasing to 100% by 2020.

Irish Country Living has been informed that once the contract is awarded, there will be a better breakdown of what areas will be serviced first. We have been told that it won’t be a case that a village will be done in 2017 and a neighbouring village will be completed a year later.

I am in a really remote area of Donegal. Will I realistically be getting this service?

There is 1-2% of the country that is difficult to access and it will be costly to put broadband into these areas. This is part of the tender process. The Government is asking the commercial companies what will be their solution to offer broadband in these areas. Marks will be awarded to bidders that can achieve as close to 100% coverage as possible.

Minimum speeds are supposed to be 30MB/s. Isn’t that a bit slow?

Absolutely. Given that the infrastructure should be future-proofed, it is considered to be quite slow. However, Minister for Communications Alex White has stressed that these are minimum speeds and bidders must set out how they plan to future-proof their technology. SIRO, for example, has already stated that it will focus on delivering a 1,000MB/s connection powered by a 100% fibre optic connection.

The Minister’s office added that this project will be like rural electrification: “When you walk into a room and turn on a light switch you’re not worried about how much wattage it takes to light it, you know it just works. We want broadband to be like that. We are doing this once and we are doing it right.”