Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2007 > Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources > Report No. 09 - Review of progress on broadband rollout

Appendix D

Summary of the questions set out in the Eleventh Report of the Joint Committee.

1.What are the exact and explicit policies, if any, which have been brought forward to address and reduce the rural and social ‘digital divide’?

2.What exact use has been made of the MAN’s up to end of 2005?

3.What exact use has been made of the MAN’s since January 2006?

4.What exact use is proposed will be made of the MAN’s to the end of 2006?

5.What targets, management and measurement metrics, follow up, monitoring, and reporting is to be made in regard to the MAN’s project?

6.What is the reason why the development of the MAN’s has involved so little use of existing fibre assets in the ground?

7.What backhaul fibre assets in State hands (ESB, Bord Gáis and Iarnrod Éireann) are being used, in a co-ordinated manner, so as to facilitate competition on long distance data transmission?

8.What is the number of actual projects that have been approved for assistance under the group broadband scheme to the end of 2005?

9.What, to the end of 2005, is the number of projects approved for assistance under the group broadband scheme that have been started?

10.What, to the end of 2005, is the number of projects approved for assistance under the group broadband scheme that have been completed?

11.What, since the start of 2006, is the number of projects that have been approved for assistance under the group broadband scheme?

12.What is the target for the take up under the group broadband scheme?

13.What access does ComReg have to information on the state of the Eircom network?

14.What validation does ComReg undertake having regard to the veracity of the information that Eircom supplies in relation to its network?

15.What specific policy is in place for the development of demand for broadband services?

16.In regard to recommendation one of the Joint Committee’s Second report — the definition of what constituted broadband [a service that provides at least 512kb connectivity and sets as a target 5Mps connectivity by 2006 with widely available 10Mps connectivity in 2008 being the further target] — what, if any, definition has been set by Government and what definition does Eircom have?

17.In regard to recommendation one of the Joint Committee’s Second report, the definition of what constituted broadband, if no definition has been set by Government, why has this not been set? Further, have Eircom and/or ComReg set a definition of what constituted broadband?

18.Has the Government developed a national broadband infrastructure plan?

19.Has the Government updated the national broadband infrastructure strategy as detailed in New Connections?

20.Has the Government developed a policy that recognises and encourages a partnership role for the private sector and which maps out, in detail, implementation plans, timeframes and responsibilities agreed to?

21.If the Government does not plan to develop a policy to work in partnership with the private sector, why is this position being adopted?

22.Is the reason that the Government has not appointed a single Minister of State with cross department responsibility for the rollout of a national broadband infrastructure and the development of e-Government services due to the fact that this proposal did not recognise the natural split between responsibility for services (the development for e-Government) and responsibility for technical and regulatory issues (the rollout of a national broadband infrastructure)?

23.What policy has the Government developed to encourage closer co-operation between the Government, the telecoms industry and the end-users of broadband services?

24.Has the Government mandated that all national, regional, county and city development plans incorporate the provision of broadband infrastructure within such plans?

25.What Government policy is there to ensure that all new developments are ‘future-proofed’ for broadband?

26.What are the Government policies for addressing how to connect the end user, typically a residential or small business user, to the backhaul network?

27.What directions, policy or otherwise, have the Government or the Minister given to ComReg in relation to achieving Local Loop Unbundling?

28.Has ComReg requested legislative powers, policy direction or otherwise to assist ComReg in completing LLU in the shortest timeframe?

29.What powers or policy direction does ComReg require so that LLU is completed in the shortest timeframe?

30.What Government policies have been introduced to widen the ‘reach’ of broadband technologies?

31.Has the Government restored the CAIT programme?

32.What policies have the Government to address the community sector?

33.What policies has the Government in place to ensure that citizens have the skills necessary to make use of what universally available and affordable broadband can deliver

34.What is the Government’s policy to encourage business to increase their usage of broadband technologies?

35.Has any examination been made as to the potential for the Government to use broadband?