Granahan McCourt led Consortium presents vision for world-class, Gigabit speed broadband for every home, farm and business in the Intervention Area
National Broadband Ireland confirms several partners for project – enet, Nokia, Actavo, The Kelly Group and KN Group
Consortium signals access to 1.2 million open eir poles
18th September 2018 – National Broadband Ireland, the name associated with the Granahan McCourt led Consortium bidding for the National Broadband Plan (NBP), has today submitted its final tender to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) for the delivery of the project. The documentation lodged today demonstrates the Consortium’s commercial, financial, legal, as well as technical solutions for the delivery of world-class Gigabit (1,000Mbps) broadband to every home, farm and business in the Intervention Area. The submission also nominates a number of key partners for the project – enet, Nokia, Actavo, The Kelly Group and KN Group.
enet, Ireland’s largest open-access network operator and the company who manage the State-owned Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), will be an integral part of the ongoing operation of the network when built.
In addition, Nokia, the multinational data networking and telecommunications equipment company, has been nominated as one of the key technology partners. National Broadband Ireland’s partners for the construction phase of the project include Actavo, The Kelly Group and KN Group – all established organisations that have immense national and international experience in telecommunications infrastructure deployment. To complement the physical build, the company will have long term access to open eir’s 1.2 M rural pole infrastructure, as well as their duct network.
Taken together, the Consortium and its partners have unmatched national and international expertise in developing, building and operating networks, particularly in telecommunications, and in co-ordinating all the elements required to finance and deliver a project of the size and complexity of the NBP. Granahan McCourt, who have led the Consortium since March 2016, are worldwide investors in technology, media and telecommunications with over 30 years’ experience of partnering with governments, corporations and people to drive infrastructural developments in underserved areas of the world.
Granahan McCourt’s team has world-leading experience in designing, building and deploying large-scale telecoms infrastructure to the value of over $30 billion. The firm’s founder and CEO, David C. McCourt has held senior roles as CEO, President or board member at some of the world’s biggest telecom network operators, including Level 3 Communications, MFS Communications, Corporate Communications Network, MCI WorldCom as well as well-respected regulated operator, Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises.
David C. McCourt, founder and CEO of Granahan McCourt said, “We are delighted to submit our final tender to the Department, which is a significant milestone for the development of broadband infrastructure in Ireland. We have assembled a world-class team with financial resources, unrivalled construction expertise and proven experience of operational capabilities to deliver this project for the Irish Government and for the citizens in rural Ireland.”
McCourt went on to say, “Throughout my career, the businesses I have been involved with have serially improved connectivity in technologically underserved regions of the world and have pioneered the roll out of telecom networks of substantial scale. We know this experience will prove to be crucial for the NBP and that’s why I can be so confident in our ability to co-ordinate all the elements required to finance and deliver a project of this size and complexity.”
“The Consortium is committed to the project’s success from a policy and a commercial perspective and we look forward, subject to being awarded the contract, to delivering world-class high-speed broadband to every home, farm and business in the intervention area,” added McCourt.
Peter Hendrick, National Broadband Ireland’s Bid Director commented, “For over three years I have led this bid and developed the key partnerships required to deliver this project. We know this is a project of scale and complexity, so when selecting construction partners, it was important that they have specific expertise and track record in terms of delivering similar projects. Also, I can confirm that Nokia has been selected as a key supplier and will play a critical role with the provision, installation, integration and commissioning of active equipment or the electronics that drives the bandwidth. Much has been said about the 30Mbps target set by the NBP, but the network we intend to build is a Gigabit network, capable of delivering 1000Mbps.”
Mr. Hendrick added, “Subject to a successful outcome in the tendering process, I look forward to continuing to work with our partners as we move towards implementation.”
The National Broadband Plan 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 premises in all parts of Ireland that cannot currently access high speed service.
Given the ongoing NBP procurement process, National Broadband Ireland will be making no further comments on this topic in the short term.
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