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Donegal CoCo Broadband Survey

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  • 12-11-2014 3:16pm
    #1
    clohamon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,762 ✭✭✭


    Donegal County Council doesn't seem to be too confident about ComReg's road test methodology or the Department's mapping project.
    Donegal County Council is currently undertaking a survey on broadband availability throughout Donegal. Digital technologies are of vital importance in our daily lives. Access to quality High Speed Broadband is a known indicator of socio-economic development and growth, and is an absolute necessity for attracting inward investment, as well as assisting employment creation in rural areas. Given the other challenges which Donegal faces in terms of employment creation, the widespread availability of high speed broadband is especially critical. Donegal County Council supports the availability of high speed broadband to all areas of the County both urban and rural and we are continually highlighting the need for quality broadband services to Government and the Department of Communications. Whilst there have been significant advances in recent years, more investment is required to provide high speed broadband services countywide. To support these efforts the Council is collecting information on current broadband availability which will be mapped and presented to Government. To help us do this we are asking that you complete this online survey. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. - See more at: http://www.donegalcoco.ie/yourcouncil/communications%20office/pressreleases/access%20to%20broadband%20in%20donegal/#sthash.7yor0N04.dpuf

    .....and just to re-cap the exchange 20 months ago (14/03/2013) between ComReg and Deputy Joe McHugh at the Communications Committee hearing.
    Mr. Kevin O'Brien: Deputy McHugh mentioned issues regarding certain parts of Donegal. If we talk afterwards, we can get that detail from the Deputy and follow up with operators to see what the specific issues are.

    Deputy Joe McHugh:There was joint North-South and EU funding but ComReg is, nevertheless, a communications regulator. While the regulator may not have had involvement in the design and construct of the project, surely the service that is available now is the responsibility of the communications regulator. I appreciate Mr. O'Brien saying we can talk about the matter after the meeting, but ComReg has a responsibility to monitor what is available or not available, irrespective of who provides it or funds it.

    Mr. Donal Leavy: If I could comment on Deputy McHugh's query, we are talking about high-speed business capacity. We have a role there at the wholesale level. It is a wholesale regulatory format. We liaise with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA from time to time. It is a long time since we encountered any complaints from businesses that they could not get this type of connectivity. I am not aware of any issues in Donegal, which is not to say there is none.

    Deputy Joe McHugh:Has ComReg had no complaints from places like Buncrana, where the issue has been raised publicly and at town council level?

    Mr. Donal Leavy: Residential broadband is an issue we have talked about. We have not had complaints about high capacity business services, of a gigabit and upwards. When we talk to Enterprise Ireland, it says this is not a problem for it in marketing us externally.

    Deputy Joe McHugh: Can Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Leavy take my contributions to this meeting as formally raising the issue with ComReg? I ask them to contact Donegal County Council and Buncrana Town Council because this is a live issue in that region. I ask them to respond to those bodies.

    Mr. Kevin O'Brien: Deputy McHugh asked about the road test methodology. We have had that methodology for a number of years. The mobile phone operators have obligations attached to their licences. We have always tested to see if they have met them. We required them to sign bonds and they received money back only when they had met roll-out obligations. They always met those obligations. We are expanding that methodology. It will encompass all national routes. I can give Deputy McHugh the detail on how we are expanding it so that it will cover more than it did in the past. The methodology was sufficient and appropriate in the past to determine whether coverage was being met, and that was the case.


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