AQW 5577/16-21

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 18/10/2016
Answered On Date: 01/12/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy what actions his Department is taking to address the gaps in rural broadband in areas like Kearney and Quinton Bay outside Portaferry or Castle Meadows Cloughey.

Answer:

Telecoms is a reserved matter and the market is fully privatised and independently regulated. My Department cannot compel a provider to invest in infrastructure or deploy services. Public intervention can be used to encourage investment. However, these are ultimately business decisions taken by providers. Using the limited powers afforded under the Communications Act 2003, my Department has made significant investments in initiatives aimed at increasing the quality of broadband infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

Under my Department’s Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project, BT has reported, at 30 June 2016, that some 3,226 premises in the Strangford Constituency have benefited, of which 853 have taken up new broadband services delivered through this project. The contract, with BT, has a mechanism which requires funding to be returned for re-investment when take up of service exceeds a certain threshold. This will allow more premises to see improvements, including in the Strangford Constituency.

My Department is also currently delivering the Superfast Roll-out Programme. This project is expected to provide access to superfast broadband, with speeds of at least 24 Megabits per second, to a further 39,000 premises by 31 December 2017 including the Strangford constituency. Details of the current roll-out plans at 5 digit postcode level can be found at https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/superfast-rollout-programme-phase-2.

It is important to recognise that there are alternative technologies that can be used to deliver broadband services. The Department provides support under the Better Broadband Scheme, with the cost of installing a basic broadband service (using satellite or wireless technology), from a list of registered suppliers. Aimed at premises that cannot access services greater than 2Mbps, this scheme ensures that no eligible household or business need pay more than £400 to access a basic broadband scheme, over a 12 month period. Further details can be found on DfE’s website at:

http://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-better-broadband-scheme

You will also be aware that the NI Executive’s draft Programme for Government (PfG) includes an Indicator to improve internet connectivity. The outcome of the PfG and related budget discussions will dictate the nature and scale of DfE’s future telecommunications intervention.