Broadband procurement process to begin soon

The procurement process for the national broadband scheme is to begin early next month, Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey said yesterday.

This would provide a broadband service for the remaining unserved 10 per cent of the population, he said.

Technical and legal consultants had already been engaged and work was under way on contract design and an analysis of all issues, including the pros and cons of regional contracts or a national contract.

"This scheme, when complete, will allow every reasonable request for broadband access to be met," said Mr Dempsey.

The Minister and his department were responding to the third broadband report issued yesterday by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications. It criticised the Government's record on the issue.

A statement from the department said the committee had based its report on data up until 2006. Given the rate of growth in broadband subscribers since then, the Republic had already progressed considerably beyond the mark referred to in the report.

The official number of subscribers in October 2004, when the Minister had set his target of 400,000 broadband subscribers by the end of 2006, stood at 63,600. The 400,000 target was broken in August 2006 and by the end of that year there were 517,300 subscribers.

The Minister has now set a further target of 700,000 subscribers by the end of this year.

The department said that broadband was now available to an estimated 85 per cent to 90 per cent of the population.

Mr Dempsey attended the launch of the committee's report and was also present for the 10th report on the draft general scheme of the Broadcasting Bill.

He ruled out abolishing the RTÉ licence fee and also emphasised the importance of public service broadcasting.

Green Party communications spokesman Eamon Ryan said the RTÉ Authority should be retained under the proposed new broadcasting legislation, rather than being replaced by a State company, as proposed by the Government.

"The Green Party believes there should be a single broadcasting regulator to monitor the programme content of both private and public sector broadcasters."