Urban NBP on the way ?

You're probably right, but maybe the mapping will encourage SIRO/VM/Eircom to compete a bit harder.

I remember the Minister from 2023 thinking he could do it with regulation alone.

I have been examining policy options for completing urban black spots. I am looking at the copper switch off plans ComReg has been examining and at the universal service obligation for broadband which I brought in in the communication regulations Bill recently. We will have to determine the regulatory mechanism we use to oblige broadband providers to provide their service to everybody so they do not leave cul-de-sacs uncompleted in urban areas.

A USO with additional state funding perhaps or a consumer levy on those who already have Gigabit. (perish the thought)

Either way, it looks like Eircom's foot dragging is going to be rewarded with some kind of subsidy.

Oireachtas news

Minister Smyth is meeting the Communications and Transport Committee

16 Oct 2024, 15:15, CR2, LH 2000 [Select]

2024 Supplementary Estimates for Public Services - Vote 29 (Environment, Climate and Communications)

Ossian Smyth, Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications

It's supposed to be about estimates but mostly it isn't. Perhaps a committee member would ask him about his plans for urban black-spots.

Here's who should be showing up.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/33/transport-and-communications/membership/?tab=select

Watch here.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/cr2-live/

Minister Smyth kind of answers Deputy Martin Kenny's PQ of two weeks ago.

126. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the work that has been undertaken by his Department and the agencies under his remit to address the issue of fibre broadband connectivity blackspots in commercial areas; if his Department has quantified the number of premises impacted by this issue; if not, when this will take place; if he envisages that State aid or a public subsidy is required to address these blackspots and by extension a public tendering process for this work; the measures his Department is considering to ensure that the Government’s own commitment of gigabit connectivity for all will be achieved by 2028; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40856/24]

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. The NBP will be delivered through investment by commercial enterprises coupled with intervention by the State in those parts of the country where private companies have no plans to invest.

The Department is aware of some evidence emerging, based on conversations with ComReg and commercial operators, that a portion of premises that do not form part of the intervention area may prove not to be commercially viable in terms of being connected to a gigabit network by 2028. The Department are currently investigating reasons for why such instances may arise with a view to identifying solutions. However, it is important to note that significant commercial roll-out programmes by Eir, SIRO and VMI are on-going, and the scale of this potential problem can only be established upon completion of those commercial roll-out programmes. 

If a portion of premises are identified not to be commercially viable in terms of delivering connectivity to a gigabit network by 2028, the Department will consider a range of options that can address the problem. A decision as to what the right solution/solutions are appropriate will be informed by the nature and scale of the problems identified. State aid intervention is one of the options that may be considered at this juncture and if pursued may require a public tendering process depending on the intervention model chosen under EU state aid guidelines. 

While commercial roll-outs are ongoing, the Department will continue to investigate this issue with relevant stakeholders such as ComReg and commercial operators and would note that it is considering options around potential pilot schemes aimed at informing potential future solutions in order to ensure that the 2028 gigabit connectivity commitments are achieved.

It's not quite clear from above whether the Department can make an early call about the at-risk premises or whether they will wait until 2028 to decide. Not a great situation if you're caught in one of these areas.

For the record, the Program for Government mentions black spots. [emphasis added below]. It looks like 5g wireless is in the frame as a solution.

Delivering Broadband

The Government is committed to the roll-out of high speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan. The increase in Remote Working following the pandemic has been hugely positive for rural Ireland enabling people to live and work in their own community. We recognise the immense opportunities that connectivity can generate for work, education, health, and rural development. This Government will:

• Complete installing high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by 2026.
• Tackle broadband blackspots that are not included in the National Broadband Plan Intervention Area currently and which will unlikely be served by commercial operators.
• Maintain support to the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce in removing mobile phone and internet black spots, especially along roads and rail networks. We will examine the role of 5G in helping to overcome these blackspots.
• Increase the number of remote working hubs and ensure dedicated spaces to support local entrepreneurs and start- ups as well as a potential landing space to be used by workers in FDI companies.
• Support Learning and Career Development through Connected Hubs
• Work to provide all schools with high- speed internet broadband, so as to prepare students for a digital future with seamless access to technology resources and adaptive learning methods.

ComReg confirms that it passed on the blackspot data (<100Mb/s) to the Minister at the end of November 2024. ComReg also acknowledges it is required to publish the black spot areas once/if the Minister has designated them as such.

Insofar as the design of public broadband interventions are concerned, Regulation 100(7) provides that the Minister may, having consulted with ComReg, designate an area with clear territorial boundaries where, on the basis of the information gathered by ComReg and any forecast, it is determined that, for the duration of the relevant forecast period*, no undertaking or public authority has deployed or is planning to deploy a very-high-capacity network or significantly upgrade or extend its network to a performance of at least 100 Mbps download speeds. ComReg is required to publish the designated areas.

Regulation 100(11) of the ECC Regulations requires ComReg to supply the results of the Geographical Survey (and any declaration referred to in Regulation 100(8)) to the Minister, subject to the Minister ensuring the same level of confidentiality and protection of business secrets as required of ComReg.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (‘DECC’) has confirmed to ComReg that it will ensure the Geographic Survey data provided to it will be treated in a confidential manner.

ComReg has corresponded with relevant Electronic Communications Undertakings to inform them that it intended to provide DECC with the results of the Geographic Survey, with ComReg subsequently doing so, via its secure file transfer platform at the end of November 2024.

Owing to reasons of confidentiality and commercial sensitivity ComReg does not make available or make public the underlying data of individual Electronic Communication Undertakings’ that is gathered for the purpose of the Geographic Survey (and the related activities).

* A "forecast period" is every three years starting 21 December 2023.

Thanks to @The Cush for digging up a relevant Irish Times article (2025-02-28) over on the NBP implementation thread.

The source "note marked confidential" seems to be quite old, and the statement from the Department contains classic distancing language - see emphasis below.

Separately officials told the Minister in a note marked confidential about what was described as “gigabit urban black spots”.

“There is evidence emerging that certain premises not currently covered by the national broadband plan may prove to be uneconomic for commercial operators to provide a gigabit service to,” it said. “One of the issues that is proving problematic is where there are no existing ducts in urban areas to facilitate connection to premises. The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications is planning to launch a pilot scheme in 2025 to establish if this voucher-based solution could be rolled out to address this problem, known as ‘direct buried leads’, more widely.”

In its statement the new Department of Arts, Culture and Communications said it was currently carrying out a detailed analysis of a range of scenarios where it may be uneconomic or where there were barriers identified inhibiting commercial operators from provide gigabit broadband services to certain premises that are not part of the national broadband plan.

“Once this exercise has been completed, the department will examine the optimal solutions to addressing such potential gigabit black spots,” it said.

“As part of that process, the department will consider whether it would be beneficial to conduct a pilot scheme to assist in making a more informed decision around the various options. It is also important to note that the mobile phone and broadband taskforce is designed to address barriers to the deployment of telecom infrastructure and will focus on actions to address black spots in any case.”[emphasis added]

The idea of a voucher solution was last tried with the Group and County Broadband Scheme in 2004. That scheme was abandoned c.2005-2006. The advantage is that it doesn't require State Aid approval and it's fairly cheap and flexible. The disadvantage, I suspect, is that it's very hard to do the civil work with any coherence or efficiency. Trying to aggregate voucher holders to provide the necessary subsidy to one provider, without breaking State Aid rules, would be tricky.

Latest from Minister.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-11-04/943/speech/1071/

The Department is conducting a detailed analysis of scenarios where it may be uneconomic for commercial operators to deliver a Gigabit Capable Network to premises outside the NBP Intervention Area; once this analysis is complete the Department will examine optimal policy responses, including cost and legal considerations, to address any identified Gigabit Blackspots. The final scale and location of any such gaps cannot be fully quantified until currently planned commercial roll-out programmes through 2026 are complete.

That final sentence needs some unpicking. Hard to know if EOY 2026 is a meaningful date.

Minister O'Donovan sees the issue - urban black spots - as caused by cable companies of old. It's a 'next generation' problem; and will cost 'an awful lot of money'.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-11-20/9/speech/43/

Deputy Grace Boland: The roll-out of national broadband is delivering high-speed fibre to rural and urban communities. It is a success and progress has been made, yet we know that there is partial coverage in some towns and villages. For example, my own hometown of Skerries has partial coverage of fibre broadband and not access to the national fibre broadband. The Minister might give us an update on when we can expect full roll-out of the national broadband plan in all towns and villages.
:
:

Deputy Patrick O'Donovan: There is a Dublin-specific issue we have to address. Fadó fadó when cable television came into people's houses - we did not have that luxury in the country, I do not know whether An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach did and Deputy Ó Snodaigh probably did - they had to break footpaths when they brought in cables and in many cases, left no ducting so there is a significant problem involving ducting in a lot of urban areas, particularly in Dublin, that we will have to address with local authorities. It will cost an awful lot of money. I know it is a particularly big issue in suburban Dublin and, in many cases, prevents the delivery of high-speed broadband. It is probably part of the next generation of problems we will have to fix in suburban areas, particularly in Dublin.