The Government will not decide whether to proceed with the plan to connect half a million rural homes and businesses to high-speed fibre broadband until after the costs ofYesterday Taoiseachconfirmed that the cost of the National Broadband Plan – a Government scheme to connect parts of rural Ireland where commercial broadband providers have declined to service – had risen to “many multiples of the original estimate”.
In the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said: “As the project will be much more expensive than anticipated, we must consider how the public finances can bear that. Obviously, the events of the next couple of weeks will tell a story in regard as to where we will stand in terms of the public finances.”, which falls in late April this year, two months away.
While some Government figures argue that it would be highly politically damaging for Fine Gael in rural Ireland to abandon such a high-profile project, others say the potential costs are simply too high – and pose a political threat in themselves. In a statement to The Irish Times, a spokeswoman for the Department of Communications said because there was only one bidder, officials had “undertaken additional detailed analysis to inform its consideration of whether the final tender submitted by the remaining bidder could be recommended as an acceptable outcome for Government. This analysis has been undertaken with input from technical, commercial and telecommunications experts.
Rural broadband does not conform to the requirements of Agenda21 Agenda2030 etc. to depopulate rural and suburban areas. No point in providing a service for people who soon won't be there to avail of it. bridsmithTD RichardbrutonTD 1Hildegarde wallacemick ClareDalyTD
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Source: IrishTimes - 🏆 3. / 98 Read more »