A National Broadband Ireland spokesman confirmed that last year it had added some 20,000 premises to the broadband intervention, based on amendments to the maps which are provided to it by the Department of Communications. Photograph: Michael Smith/GettyAs many as 80,000 homes could have been left off maps used by National Broadband Ireland to connect people to the new €2.9 billion roll out of fibre broadband.
Amber areas are those areas where homes and businesses will be offered fibre, under the State intervention scheme. Mr Naughten, an Independent TD for Roscommon–Galway, demonstrated a number of anomalies in the maps, where premises should have been in the amber intervention area. “There are about 80,000 homes which are in blue but not getting an adequate service which fall into this category,” he said.
The department said the reason high-speed fibre broadband cannot be offered to those whose connection was already offering greater speeds than 30Mbps was to do with State aid. “There is no scope for intervention in the form of the NBI roll out as to do so would contravene EU state-aid rules,” it said.