Press release
Minister Smyth launches consultation on International Connectivity for Telecommunications
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State for the Environment, Climate and Communications, with responsibility for Communications, Ossian Smyth, is launching a consultation on international connectivity for telecommunications. The consultation opens on Friday, 31 May, and will remain open until 19 July. The purpose of this consultation is to invite all interested parties to contribute their views on the status of international connectivity for telecommunications in Ireland.
Submarine fibre optic cables, or subsea cables, are among the most important components of the internet’s infrastructure. Subsea cables connect the domestic terrestrial fibre network to cloud services and data resources around the world. The more robust the connection between the user and the data resource, the faster, better and more productive the user experience. Many industry applications depend critically on reliable, fast broadband internet and international bandwidth, including financial trading, e-commerce, and cloud computing, which is increasingly leveraged by various industries. Broadband internet is also playing an increasingly key role in education, health care and agriculture.
Improvements in digital connectivity contribute to faster economic growth – creating more jobs, improving access to public services and expanding markets. Two key infrastructure elements underpin a country’s digital connectivity: the international connectivity network; and the domestic connectivity network.
Welcoming the consultation, Minister Smyth said:
"As we have seen from the events during the pandemic, the world has had to evolve to meet the challenges of remote and hybrid working and businesses have had no other option other than to digitally transform. Ireland critically relies on international bandwidth from subsea cables for its economic development. As technology develops, phenomena such as streaming, gaming, machine learning, the internet of things (IoT), big data, and autonomous vehicles will only increase the demand on bandwidth. These communication solutions are enabled by having high quality subsea digital connectivity, so I welcome the consultation and stakeholder engagement which aims to enhance our internet capacity and resilience."
Ireland is pursuing a strategy to be a 'Gateway to Europe' for subsea telecommunications cables. In realising this ambition, the State will become a key international connectivity hub between North America and Europe – a policy position which the government is now actively advocating.
The government strategy will ensure increased capacity to meet the demand for digital and data services into the future, as well as increased diversity in subsea telecommunications cable routes to ensure network resilience and safeguard international connectivity in the event of a route failure.
In the context of security of critical infrastructure in Europe, the landing station diversity offered by Ireland is particularly advantageous because the cable routes come from multiple directions, thereby minimising the risk of simultaneous failure.
ENDS
The government has adopted a strong policy position to encourage and boost investment in Ireland’s national and international subsea telecoms connectivity. This position is underlined and supported in Ireland’s 'National Development Plan – 2021-2030' as well as under Dimension 2 of 'Harnessing Digital – the Digital Ireland Framework,' which both respectively highlight the importance of strategic investment to the State of enhancing high-quality, secure and reliable connectivity to global networks. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications' Digital Connectivity Strategy describes how strong international connectivity allows Ireland to achieve "sustainable economic growth and positive social dividends". The Digital Connectivity Strategy outlines that Ireland wants to ensure that international connectivity infrastructure is "resilient, suitably diverse, and robust so that [it] can serve the demands of the national requirements".
There is also an increased ambition at a European level to further strengthen the international telecommunications connectivity of the European Union (EU), including via the deployment of high-quality, robust subsea telecommunications cables. This Union policy has been supported and implemented by a number of recent initiatives, to include: