Naughten to recommend private sector model for broadband scheme

A new telecoms infrastructure that will be created as part of State's plan to bring high speed broadband to every property in Ireland is expected to be decided on in Cabinet on Tuesday.

It is understood Minister for Communications Denis Naughten will present a private sector ownership model because it would be the cheapest and the quickest.

According to a report in RTÉ, the recommendation to use "commercial stimulus" or "gap funding" model is because it is thought to be the least risky and prevent further delays of the infrastructure.

A Department of Communications spokesperson said the item was on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.

Sources recently suggested up to 80,000 homes, not included in the National Broadband Plan (NBP), could not be connected to broadband networks in their areas for a variety of reasons without costly interventions.

The crux of the issue lies in the difference between “premises passed” by the new technology, the phrase industry uses, and those that can be connected to it, the threshold the Government insists upon.

The NBP promises to replace the patchwork of ageing technologies currently prevailing in rural Ireland with one super-fast network.

The Government’s proposed intervention footprint covers 757,000 homes, but this may be changed before the final tender later this year.

“The NBP is a national plan designed to ensure that high-speed broadband is available to every home, school and business in the country,” a spokeswoman for the department said.

“For this reason, it is important that the department monitors progress of high speed broadband deployment in the commercial areas as well as focussing on the procurement process.”