This document discusses broadband availability and initiatives in Ireland. It provides statistics on broadband penetration rates in Ireland and comparisons to other EU countries. Availability of DSL has improved but challenges remain, particularly in rural areas. Alternative platforms like cable, fixed wireless access, and fiber are growing. Local loop unbundling is developing but lags some other EU countries. The National Broadband Scheme aims to address availability in currently unserved areas through an open competition process.
2. www.comreg.ie
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Broadband in Ireland: Agenda
Where are we now?
Availability a major issue - multi-platform approach
Local Loop unbundling
Regional Survey trends
Initiatives for national coverage
3. www.comreg.ie
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Broadband Penetration in the EU
Broadband Penetration, June 2006 (OECD)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
D
enm
ark
N
etherlands
Iceland
Korea
Sw
itzerland
Finland
N
orw
ay
Sw
eden
C
anada
U
nited
Kingdom
Belgium
U
nited
States
Japan
Luxem
bourg
Austria
France
Australia
EU
15
O
EC
D
G
erm
any
Spain
Italy
Portugal
N
ew
Zealand
C
zech
R
epublic
Ireland
H
ungary
Poland
Turkey
Slovak
R
epublic
M
exico
G
reece
DSL Cable Other
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Take up and growth by platform
Platform Q3 06 Subs
Quarterly Growth
Q206- Q306
Year-on-Year Growth
Q305- Q306
DSL 319,400 16% 91%
Cable 49,500 24% 174%
FWA 62,500 19% 154%
Other[1] 5,300 16% 139%
Total 436,700 17% 106%
Wifi Access Points 2496 +35% n/a
[1] Other Broadband includes Satellite and Fibre to the Premises broadband subscriptions
7. www.comreg.ie
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PC users / Internet / Broadband
PC, Internet and Broadband Penetration
58.5%
54.9%
46.2%
42.2%
32.5%
18.6%
48.7%
45.1%
38.2%
33.5%
20.5%
5.0%
13%
7%
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
PC
Internet
Broadband
Source: Central Statistics Office
8. www.comreg.ie
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Take Up of Broadband since DSL Launch
Broadband Penetration since Month of Launch
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
52
54
56
58
60
62
Month since Launch
PercentagePenetration
Denmark Finland
Ireland Portugal
Spain Sweden
This chart includes a projection of penetration at year end 2006 at 500,000
subscribers
10. www.comreg.ie
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EU Pricing Comparisons
DSL Basket- November 2006
384/3072
320/1024
192/768
192/2048
128/1024
128/256
256/2048
256/1024
128/1024
128/1024
128/160
256/640
128/512
128/375
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
N
etherlands
Belgium
Italy
D
enm
ark
Ireland
G
erm
any
France
U
K
Sw
eden
Average
PortugalLuxem
bourg
G
reece
Spain
Austria
€/PPP(priceincludesVAT)
Non-recurring Recurring UsageSource: Teligen
11. www.comreg.ie
11
Broadband in Ireland: Agenda
Where are we now?
Availability a major issue - multi-
platform approach
Local Loop unbundling
Regional Survey trends
Initiatives for national coverage
12. www.comreg.ie
12
Government Initiatives Availability:MANs
Under the 1st Call, 34
projects were approved, to
provide a broadband service
to 38 communities, with a
combined population of over
36,000 people. – 20 towns.
Under the 2nd call, which
was officially launched in
January 2005, 119 projects
have been approved to date,
representing an investment
of €12.4 million in 445
communities covering a
population of 355,000 people
– 90+ towns.
Source: DCMNR
13. www.comreg.ie
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DSL availability has improved- but challenges still remain
In April 2006, 83% of lines were connected to a broadband-enabled
exchange – in line with the OECD average
Source: OECD
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) availability in the EU
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Belgium
Denmark
Netherlands
UK
Sw eden
Italy
Austria
Poland
Ireland
OECD
Hungary
15. www.comreg.ie
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Cable availability: NTL and Chorus
NORTHERN IRELAND (U.K.)
Irish Sea
Saint Georges
Channel
North
Channel
North Atlantic
Ocean
Donegal
Bay
Lough
Allen
Lough
Ree
Lough
Sheelin
Lough
Derg
Lough
Conn
Lough
Mask
Lough
Corrib
Lough
Neagh
Lower
Lough
Erne
Upper
Lough
Erne
Donegal
Cavan
Monaghan
Liouth
MeathLongford
Leitrim
Sligo
Roscommon
Galway
Mayo
Westmeath
Offaly
Kildare
Dublin
WicklowLaois
Clare
Tipperary
Kilkenny
Limerick
Kerry
Cork
Waterford
Wexford
Carlow
Creeslough
Naas
Letterkenny
Lifford
Ardara
Donegal
Sligo
Bangor
Erris Ballina
Castlebar
Westport
Charlestown
Claremorris
Carrick on
Shannon
Cavan
Monaghan
Dundalk
Drogheda
Trim
Dublin
Mullingar
Longford
Athlone
Roscommon
Tuam
Clifden
Tullamore
Wicklow
ArklowCarlow
Port Laoise
Durrow
Kilkenny
Roscrea
Nenagh
Limerick
Ennis
Ennistimon
Kilkee
Tralee
Tipperary
Caher Clonmel
Waterford
Wexford
Rosslare
Dungarvan
Youghal
FermoyMallow
CorkMacroom
Bantry
Kenmare
Kilarney
Navan
Galway
Maps/Eur/ComInd/Ireland cellphones2
Donegal
National Capital
City
International Boundary
County Boundary
County Name
MMDS franchise coverage
0 50Miles
Ireland
Lifford
Galway cable
franchise
Waterford cable
franchise
Dublin cable
franchise
16. www.comreg.ie
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Fixed Wireless Access Broadband
Fixed Wireless Access
• FWA is an alternative access
platform for broadband access,
particularly in rural areas
• Enabling alternatives to DSL and
Cable
• Promoting innovation and
competitiveness within the sector.
As of March ‘06
• 120 licences.
• 11 operators
• 55,000+ subscribers
Fixed Wireless Broadband is
the fastest growing broadband
platform in the market
17. www.comreg.ie
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Wireless Use
Wireless broadband connections, March 2006
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
Ireland
Australia
Canada
Poland
Lithuania
Japan
Spain
South
Korea
Norway
Czech
Republic
Sweden
France
UK
Portugal
Finland
G
reece
Denm
ark
Estonia
Latvia
Note: The USA has over 700,000 broadband subscribers. Wireless broadband connections are falling in Japan, Portugal and South
Korea. Analysys commented recently:
“Broadband wireless technologies offer further potential for closing the gap between services available in urban
and rural areas but are not without problems. In France, Neuf Telecom has stopped promoting a fixed wireless
service offered in 32 towns and cities, while in the UK wireless operator Mesh Broadband ceased trading in
April 2005, despite receiving funding assistance from a local development agency. WiMAX promises increased
capabilities in terms of speed and distance but the interdependence between these two variables will affect its
ability to address the needs of rural communities. Commercial considerations – which have caused existing
wireless technologies to be marketed primarily as mobility solutions and have confined them to niche segments
of the fixed access market – will also influence WiMAX roll-out. “ Source: Analysys
18. www.comreg.ie
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Other Broadband Platforms
Fibre :2 operators are deploying fibre in greenfield sites-
Smart Telecom and Magnet Networks. They have ~ 2,000
subscribers and 13,000 homes passed according to IDate
Satellite: Viable alternative particularly in rural areas – BT
has used satellite technologies in Northern Ireland where
DSL was not available
WLANs: BT, eircom and Bitbuzz have all rolled out
hotspots across Ireland. Eircom launched recent initiative
with Chambers Ireland -24 towns Wi-Fi enabled so far.
3G mobile: Currently 3G delivers speeds of around
284Kbps. However a number of mobile operators are
planning to launch High Speed Downlink Packet Access
(HSDPA) services in 2006.
19. www.comreg.ie
19
Broadband in Ireland: Agenda
Where are we now?
Availability a major issue - multi-platform approach
Local Loop unbundling
Regional Survey trends
Initiatives for national coverage
20. www.comreg.ie
20
Development of Local Loop Unbundling in Ireland
LLU Lines Dec 2004- Sep 2006
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
D
ec-04
Jan-05
Feb-05
M
ar-05
Apr-05M
ay-05
Jun-05
Jul-05
Aug-05Sep-05
O
ct-05
N
ov-05D
ec-05
Jan-06
Feb-06
M
ar-06
Apr-06M
ay-06
Jun-06
Jul-06
Aug-06Sep-06
Full LLU Shared LLU Column 3
21. www.comreg.ie
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LLU Benchmarking
% of OAO DSL lines provided through LLU, Q1 2006
31%
27% 27%
23% 23%
18%
17%
15%
14%
13%
10%
7%
5%
4% 4% 4%
1% 1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
France
Sw
edenN
etherlands
G
erm
any
FinlandTotal/Average
Austria
Italy
D
enm
ark
Portugal
Spain
U
KLuxem
bourg
Slovenia
G
reece
Ireland
Estonia
Belgium
Research Note:
Latvia, Hungary, Cyprus,
zech Rep, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland and
Slovakia have 0% LLU
lines
Source: ECTA Scorecard, Q1 2006
22. www.comreg.ie
22
Broadband in Ireland: Agenda
Where are we now?
Availability a major issue - multi-platform approach
Local Loop unbundling
Regional Survey trends
Initiatives for national coverage
23. www.comreg.ie
23
User Trends in Broadband: Business Residential Split
Business
Subscribers, 29%
Residential
Subscribers, 71%
24. www.comreg.ie
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Regional trends in Residential Internet usage
Internet users by region, 2006
24% 27%
65%
18%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Dublin RoLeinster Munster Connacht
Dial-up Broadband Don't know
Internet users by age group, 2006
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74
Dial-up Broadband Don't know
Internet users bysocial class, 2006
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
ABC1 C2DE Farmer
Dial-up Broadband Don't know
Source: Amárach Consulting, CSO
Population Density, 1996
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Leinster
Munster
Connacht
Ulster (part of)
State
ComReg surveys indicate that ABC1s and Dublin-based households are more
likely to have broadband.
25. www.comreg.ie
25
Broadband in Ireland: Agenda
Where are we now?
Availability a major issue - multi-platform approach
Local Loop unbundling
Regional Survey trends
Initiatives for national coverage
26. www.comreg.ie
26
National Broadband Scheme (NBS) Overview
Oct ’05 Minister CMNR announced intention to bring
forward a scheme to address broadband provision in areas
currently unserved
Being led by DCMNR with assistance of ComReg
Steering Committee and Working Group established and
actively engaged in scoping and design of scheme
Tenders for technical, economic and legal expertise
underway and expected to be completed end Feb (OJEU)
Intention is to run an open competition/tender for
provision of broadband services in ‘un-served areas’
where State will part fund.
Seeking to provide product broadly equivalent to entry
level product available in market - 1Mbit service with
associated QoS guarantees. Upgradeability important.
Expected to commence competition in June
27. www.comreg.ie
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National Broadband Scheme – current activities
Meetings held with representative operators to signal
intentions and to get views
Open to industry to decide most economically way of
providing service so will be a technology neutral tender
Engaged in mapping exercise to identify where no
broadband service providers. Intended to consult with
industry and regional bodies to corroborate indicative
maps
Likely to include requirement on winning tenderer(s) to
also provide wholesale equivalent – encourages
competition
Likely to be a single national contract