Michael Fisher
The Cabinet has decided to award preferred bidder status for the National Broadband Plan to the sole remaining bidder in the competition, the n a t i o n a l Broadband Ireland consortium led by the US businessman David McCourt. The decision was made after a lengthy cabinet discussion on Tuesday. The value of the contract has been capped at just under €3 billion and requires the company to build and operate the network for 25 years, with an option for the state to extend for a further ten years.
The network will not be owned by the state after the conclusion of the contract. The NBP will ensure everyone in Ireland will have access to reliable high-speed broadband no matter where they live or work. Once completed this will be capable of meeting the needs of current and future generations.
The NBP’s ambition is to reach 100% coverage across Ireland. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investment and the State-led intervention. The profile of the area to be addressed by the intervention strategy includes approximately 540,000 premises; 1.1 million people (23% of the population); 56,000 farms (68% national total); 44,000…
