Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 June 2016
5. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the commitments in the programme for Government on improving mobile telephone coverage and his timetable for action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16180/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraQuestion No. 5 is in the name of Deputy Michael McGrath but I understand that Deputy Dooley will introduce it.
We were talking about rural Ireland and rural constituencies and the Minister will be well aware of the difficulty encountered by many people who use mobile phones in rural areas and the propensity for call drop-out on a very regular basis. In my view and in the view of many of my constituents there has been a significant deterioration in the quality of that network over a period. What is the Minister's view on how he would ensure an improvement in the existing mobile network?
I thank Deputy Dooley for that question. The programme for a partnership Government commits to the establishment within 100 days of a mobile phone and broadband task force which will consider immediate measures to address telecommunications deficits in rural Ireland. My Department is engaging with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in regard to the terms of reference for the task force to ensure delivery of the programme for Government commitment within the timelines set out. It is likely that the task force will involve a number of Government Departments and agencies, as well as engagement with telecommunications operators. My Department has already conducted a number of meetings with vendors and mobile operators to help inform the process and identify what tangible measures can be taken. I intend to set a challenging timeframe for the delivery of actions arising from this task force.
The provision of mobile telephony services is undertaken by telecommunications service providers operating in a fully liberalised market under licences provided by the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. It is subject to a requirement to secure access to the required radio spectrum by way of licence. The management of the radio spectrum is a statutory function of ComReg and, accordingly, I have no statutory responsibility in this matter.
I am aware, however, that licences issued by ComReg apply terms and conditions on mobile network operators such as quality of service and minimum population coverage obligations. The design of the network is a matter entirely for the operator concerned although operators tend to exceed their minimum coverage requirements for commercial reasons. ComReg monitors compliance with licence requirements by means of bi-annual drive tests. I understand that current testing is designed to cover all national primary and secondary routes, with measurements being performed on all mobile networks.
There are several ways in which improved wireless broadband and mobile services can be achieved. This includes the Government and local authorities working to reduce barriers to the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure through better planning laws and processes, and working with telecommunications operators to improve information on various aspects of their activities, including upgrades and changes in their networks. My Department continues to liaise closely with industry and other relevant Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks and this will be a focus of the mobile phone and broadband task force.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
A programme for a partnership Government also commits to measures to assist in the roll-out of the network once a contract under the national broadband plan is awarded. In this regard, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will lead on the establishment of county or regional broadband task forces, working with local authorities, local enterprise offices, Leader groups and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract or contracts have been awarded. These measures should also assist in the roll-out of mobile telecommunications services.
The commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2 billion in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband services, including acquiring spectrum under ComReg's 2012 multi-band spectrum auction for roll-out of 3G and 4G mobile services. These investments will further improve the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country, although I understand that some temporary disruptions to service have been encountered as upgrades take place. ComReg is also planning the further release of spectrum to assist in the roll-out of wireless services, particularly in rural areas.
I thank the Minister for his reply. He will be aware that in 2012 ComReg awarded a number of individual rights to use the spectrum that provides for 4G services and certain conditions were applied at that time to provide minimum coverage obligations of, I believe, 70% of the population, and many operators claim to be providing that service or in excess of that. That is fine when it comes mobile broadband and all the additional services that reside thereafter. The issue is about access to basic telephony. Interestingly, under a UK 2014 agreement, all four of its mobile operators have collectively agreed to guarantee voice and text coverage from each operator across 90% of the UK geographic area by 2017. That should set the template for us in ensuring that voice calls and texts are at least accessible. We do not expect to be able to access enhanced fast download speeds on mobile phone in every rural or remote area.
We spoke about the importance of being able to direct an ambulance to the location of an accident when we dealt with an earlier question. Cellular telephony and technology has provided the greatest tool in getting ambulances and emergency services quickly to the site of an accident but accidents happen in rural and isolated areas and, sadly, in many cases there is a delay in getting personnel there because of the poor coverage. I humbly suggest that the Minister examines what has happened in the UK and the arrangement that has been made between its commission and the operators to put in place something along those lines about achieving 90% coverage of the landmass. There is no doubt that anybody familiar with the geography of the UK would recognise that it is as testing, or probably more testing, than the topography of our own landscape, therefore, it should be possible to reach 90% to 95% coverage for mobile calls and texts.
On the Deputy's comment regarding what has happened the UK, we will look at that. It is a matter for ComReg but we will look at what is happening in UK. My Department works very closely with colleagues in the UK.
Vodafone has 98% 3G coverage and 95% 4G coverage, Meteor has 99% 3G coverage and 75% 4G coverage, 3 has 96% 3G coverage and 73% 4G coverage but that is on the basis of population. Approximately 70% of premises are in about 4% of the land area, and therein lies the problem. A number of actions have to be taken. There are bottlenecks in the system and we will consider the Deputy's suggestion. If anyone else has suggestions on that, I would be happy to examine them.
I had a meeting earlier with Vodafone Ireland and Vodafone International at which we raised this issue and their representatives made the point about development contributions. To take my constituency as an example, the development contribution in County Galway per telecommunications mast is €20,000 but across the River Suck, in County Roscommon, it is zero. There is a huge variation across the country in that regard and that is part of the problem.
Another part of the problem is that the demand for data is increasing dramatically. The volume of data on the landline network across Europe is doubling every 40 months and on the mobile network it is doubling every 18 months. That conflict is part of the problem. We need to examine how we can roll out infrastructure quicker, and not just wireless and mobile infrastructure because that needs to be backed up by fibre broadband. It is about engaging with local authorities, dealing with anomalies such as this and with issues of road opening licences and access to ducting. The cost of existing ducting is a significant problem.
I believe we can make significant progress if all of us work together, engage with our own local authorities, deal with the challenges that exist and use the existing State infrastructure available to us to try to roll out that network.
Do I have another minute?
No. I have to cut off the debate when the six and a half minutes have concluded. I have been liberal-minded with the Deputy in allowing him go over time-----
You are awful hard.
-----but I am anxious that we deal with as many questions as possible. Deputy Dooley has 30 seconds to introduce the next question.
