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In parallel to the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) now scheduled to bring high-speed connectivity to every home in Ireland by 2022, the report presented to the cabinet by Minister for Communications Denis Naughten and Minister for Rural Affairs Heather Humphreys lists 40 actions to improve existing services and speed up NBP delivery.
“The appointment of a broadband officer as a single point of contact for telecoms operators in each local authority will be key to overcoming obstacles quickly,” Minister Naughten wrote in the report. This is expected to be in place during the first quarter of 2017.
An implementation group involving both departments will report on broadband progress every 90 days.
Telecommunications infrastructure
Other priority actions include new legislation to exempt more telecommunication infrastructure from planning permission, and a specific review of broadband blackspots with proposals to address them by next June.
Consumers will also receive better information under the form of mobile phone ratings in accordance with their ability to pick up poor signals. The deadline for this is the end of next year. The telecommunications regulator ComReg will also publish an accurate map of coverage by different forms of telecommunications services, but this won’t be available until some time in 2018.
A number of actions are planned to improve access to ducts along existing infrastructure such as roads to speed up the installation of telecommunication networks.
“The practical measures identified in this report will greatly assist in improving planning processes, optimising network performance, improving access to infrastructure, and equipping consumers to make informed decisions on products and services, and improve overall the quality of broadband and mobile services to the people of Ireland,” Minister Humphreys wrote in the report.
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