RTE is having a live webchat at 1400 today with Dempsey and the opposition party spokespeople on Comms. You can submit questions to the live webchat here. Four questions allowed max, unless you delete cookies 🙂 They also limit the amount of text per question but anyone who can hack javascript can circumvent that. I’d sent in some questions but I hope others can send in more too. Boards.ie thread on it.
Questions asked:
- Minister, your Dept stopped new funding for the Group Broadband Scheme in April 05. From then on communities were strung along saying the next funding round was on the way. This happened up to the week when you announced the GBS was due to be scrapped. How can you say there was no takeup?
- The new National Broadband Tender is using taxpayer money to subsidise the winner to go into areas where broadband is already available. Doesn’t this clash with competition rules?
- The National Broadband Tender does not apply to anywhere in Wexford because your map says everyone in Wexford can get broadband, which is patently untrue. What do you have to say to the 1000s in Wexford who can not get broadband and cannot get it under this new scheme?
- The broadband tender does not cover anywhere where exchanges are enabled. The failure rate in urban exchanges is 10% and 40% and higher in rural areas. The tender does not apply to them. Why?
- ComReg even before their new powers had the power to fine a company, even if the amount was tiny. They never did. Why will they change their ways now?
- Why did the Minister not carry out the recommendations of the Oireachtas committee on broadband but spend 100s of Millions on unconnected Fibre rings?
- The new broadband tender fits amazingly well into the eircom broadband roll-out plans. Did the DCMNR plan the tender with the consent of eircom?