The Irish Broadband experience - Gary Healy

The Irish Broadband experience Gary Healy Director – Market Development

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

Broadband Penetration in the EU

Broadband versus Narrowband

Large growth in number of Broadband Service Providers

Take up and growth by platform [1] Other Broadband includes Satellite and Fibre to the Premises broadband subscriptions n/a +35% 2496 Wifi Access Points 106% 17% 436,700 Total 139% 16% 5,300 Other [1] 154% 19% 62,500 FWA 174% 24% 49,500 Cable 91% 16% 319,400 DSL Year-on-Year Growth Q305- Q306 Quarterly Growth Q206- Q306 Q3 06 Subs Platform

PC users / Internet / Broadband

Take Up of Broadband since DSL Launch This chart includes a projection of penetration at year end 2006 at 500,000 subscribers

Broadband Pricing in Ireland Over Time Source: ComReg, eircom Price = €54.45 Price = €39.99 Price = €29.99 Price = €24.99

EU Pricing Comparisons

Where are we now?

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

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

Alternative Platform growth

Cable availability: NTL and Chorus

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

Wireless Use 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

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.

Where are we now?

Development of Local Loop Unbundling in Ireland

LLU Benchmarking

Where are we now?

User Trends in Broadband: Business Residential Split

Regional trends in Residential Internet usage Source: Amárach Consulting, CSO ComReg surveys indicate that ABC1s and Dublin-based households are more likely to have broadband.

Where are we now?

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

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