The European Commission has approved Ireland to provide €2.6bn in public support for the National Broadband Plan (NBP).
Ireland required the plan to be approved under state aid rules. The NBP will provide access to high-speed internet for some 56,000 farms outside the reach of commercial broadband providers.
Margerthe Vestager said: “The National Broadband Plan in Ireland is expected to address the significant digital divide between urban and rural areas in Ireland.”
Benefits
The Commission concluded that the scheme's positive effects on competition in the Irish broadband market outweighed potential negative effects from public intervention.
“This will help households and businesses in areas of Ireland where private investment is insufficient,” Vestager said.
The plan aims to bring high-speed broadband to all areas by targeting those where there is no infrastructure offering download speeds of at least 30 megabits per second. There must also be no concrete plan by a private investor to invest in such areas near future.
The consortium formed by US-based company Granaham McCourt and its subcontractors has been selected to connect 100% of premises in the state within seven years.
Controversy
The NBP has been dogged by controversy. Former Minister for Communications Denis Naughten resigned last year over controversial meetings with Granaham McCourt boss David McCourt.
An independent audit later concluded that the tendering process could continue and the contract was awarded to Granaham McCourt, the sole remaining tenderer, in May 2019.
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Green light for €3bn National Broadband Plan
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The European Commission has approved Ireland to provide €2.6bn in public support for the National Broadband Plan (NBP).
Ireland required the plan to be approved under state aid rules. The NBP will provide access to high-speed internet for some 56,000 farms outside the reach of commercial broadband providers.
Margerthe Vestager said: “The National Broadband Plan in Ireland is expected to address the significant digital divide between urban and rural areas in Ireland.”
Benefits
The Commission concluded that the scheme's positive effects on competition in the Irish broadband market outweighed potential negative effects from public intervention.
“This will help households and businesses in areas of Ireland where private investment is insufficient,” Vestager said.
The plan aims to bring high-speed broadband to all areas by targeting those where there is no infrastructure offering download speeds of at least 30 megabits per second. There must also be no concrete plan by a private investor to invest in such areas near future.
The consortium formed by US-based company Granaham McCourt and its subcontractors has been selected to connect 100% of premises in the state within seven years.
Controversy
The NBP has been dogged by controversy. Former Minister for Communications Denis Naughten resigned last year over controversial meetings with Granaham McCourt boss David McCourt.
An independent audit later concluded that the tendering process could continue and the contract was awarded to Granaham McCourt, the sole remaining tenderer, in May 2019.
Read more
Green light for €3bn National Broadband Plan
Rural broadband raised as critical issue
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