Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte
The Government’s €175m National Broadband Plan had committed to funding rural premises with minimum broadband services of 30 megabits per second (Mbs), considered to be a basic fibre speed, by the end of next year.
However, despite renewed commitments to the 30Mbs speeds as recently as July 1, Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte has now said that the Government may revert to lower speeds measuring “up to” 30Mbs.
“I’m not sure that a minimum speed is written in stone the more I learn about it,” Mr Rabbitte said.
“I’m more interested in the quality of the broadband than whether it’s 29Mbs or 31Mbs.”
The comments may worry rural broadband campaigners banking on the Government’s pledge to equip all parts of the country with comparable high-speed broadband as in urban areas.
“This is such a critical issue for the country’s recovery that we need to do it,” Mr Rabbitte said last August when the plan was initially launched.
“The IDA has made me aware that broadband access can be a decisive factor for multinational investors in Ireland.” The Government was reiterating its promise of 30Mbs minimum speeds as recently as July 1.
However, broadband services promising “up to” speeds have come in for heavy criticism recently.
A European Commission report in June found that fibre broadband services deliver little more than half their promised speeds in Ireland.
Urban Irish broadband services suffer similar problems, with Eircom and mobile operators admitting that many of their telephone line and mobile broadband services do not currently deliver advertised speeds.
At present, a 30Mbs fibre-speed broadband service in rural Ireland costs in excess of €100 per month, placing it beyond the reach of most households.
At present, UPC’s fibre broadband network extends to almost 700,000 homes and businesses, while Eircom has promised a network of 1.2 million fibre-connected homes and businesses by 2015.
However, this leaves up to 800,000 premises relying on government-planned broadband services or alternative solutions, such as satellite broadband which is more expensive.
(Source – Irish Independent – Adrian Weckler – 17/07/2013)
An end to country’s digital divide? Not so fast
If you live in a city, you will enjoy the best of broadband services at affordable prices. If you live in rural Ireland, you will get something less than that. The question is: how much less?
The Government had sought to draw a line under Ireland’s so-called ‘digital divide’. It was called The National Broadband Plan. It was an ambitious programme to connect every single home and business in the country to a fibre-speed broadband service.
That meant a minimum speed of 30 megabits per second (Mbs).
What is emerging is that that just may not be possible.
To be clear, broadband promising “up to” 30Mbs is very different from broadband promising a “minimum” speed of 30Mbs.
And, as Mr Rabbitte said when he launched the plan last year, quality broadband access “can be a decisive factor” when it comes to job creation in parts of Ireland.
To be fair to the Government, that it has a national broadband plan at all is commendable.
And if it manages to cover rural Ireland with an affordable service providing even half of 30Mbs, that will be a huge step forward.
But with a budget of €175m (plus €175m from industry), even that seems like a big ask.
(Source – Irish Independent – Adrian Weckler – 17/07/2013)
Maps to Identify Country’s Broadband Gaps
The Government is to consider community by community which areas should be offered state-sponsored high-speed broadband.
A national mapping exercise to identify parts of the country which would not be adequately served without official intervention was launched today by Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte.
“We will work our way through a map of Ireland, community by community,” he said.
“We need to see which streets and roads, which towns and villages will be offered fast broadband by commercial operators.
“That’s the only way to spot the gaps that we will need to fill with state supported investment.”
He said the nationwide mapping project was a key step in delivering the National Broadband Plan, which commits to achieving speeds of a minimum of 30Mbps or higher to all parts of Ireland, through a combination of public and private investment.
The exercise will help identify where advanced broadband services are already in place or planned within three years.
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is seeking information relating to the infrastructure used by telecoms companies to provide those services and the extent of the coverage.
(Source – Irish Examiner – 01/07/2013)