The enet-led consortium has submitted its ‘Detailed Solution’ for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) as part of the ongoing procurement process.
The submission today is in response to the Department’s Invitation to Submit Detailed Solutions (ISDS) for the National Broadband Plan and is the last stage in the competitive bid process before final tenders are submitted by qualified bidders.
The NBP is the largest-ever telecommunications procurement undertaken by the Irish State and aims to radically transform the country’s broadband landscape through the delivery of quality, affordable broadband to over 542,000 premises in all parts of Ireland that cannot currently access high speed service.
David C. McCourt, founder and CEO of Granahan McCourt Capital and Chairman of enet said: “Today is a landmark day for the NBP process, as well as the enet-led consortium. The procurement process has progressed to the ‘Detailed Solutions’ stage and while we cannot publicly discuss our solution, we are very excited to share our comprehensive thoughts with the Department. In submitting our ‘Detailed Solution’, we are reaffirming our continued commitment to Ireland, to government policy, and to our understanding of the importance, scale and complexity of this project.”
The enet-led consortium comprises of enet-owner, Granahan McCourt Capital, a worldwide investor in telecoms and media infrastructure, SSE plc, Ireland’s second largest energy utility and a leading infrastructure investor and developer, and John Laing Group plc, the international originator, active investor and manager of infrastructure projects.
Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Ireland, said: “SSE welcomes reaching today’s significant milestone in the ongoing procurement process that allows our consortium to submit our ‘Detailed Solution’ to the Department and we look forward to participating in the next stage of the process.”
Earlier this month SSE and Granahan McCourt Capital unveiled plans by enet-SSE, a new joint venture between the two companies, to commercially bring superfast fibre broadband connectivity to 115,000 homes and businesses in regions not included in the NBP Intervention Area.