Q&A: What is the broadband plan and what happens next?

is the Government’s long-standing plan to address the lack of broadband coverage in rural Ireland. Thousands of Irish homes and businesses are located in so-called broadband black spots, which cover a whopping 80 per cent of the Republic’s land mass.

This has resulted in a digital divide and a two-tier economy, which the Government has pledged to address. The plan is to subsidise the building of a network that would connect more than 540,000 rural homes and businesses to superfast broadband. It’s a big undertaking, often likened to the electrification projects of the 1930s and 1940s.The process has been dogged by delays and controversies from the start. It has also been shunned by most of the industry players here, raising questions about the Government’s procurement process.

There was ultimately only one bidder in what was meant to be a competitive tender – and the feasibility of the project itself. But worst of all, the cost of the scheme has ballooned to nearly €3 billion, six times the original estimate.and his officials have strongly recommend against approving it on the grounds that it no longer represents value for money for the taxpayer.

The Government, however, seems determined to push ahead, fearful of the potential backlash of turning back at this late stage.

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