Granahan McCourt / enet consortium shortlisted to develop Ireland’s National Broadband Plan
06 July 2016
The Granahan McCourt / enet consortium led by David McCourt, chairman of enet and founder of global telecoms investment specialists Granahan McCourt Capital (Granahan McCourt), has been included in the shortlist of candidates being considered to develop the Irish Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP).
Alongside Granahan McCourt and enet, the consortium brings together leading companies in telecoms, infrastructure, power and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), including John Laing, 3i Infrastructure, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and the Kelly Group.
David McCourt commented: “The Granahan McCourt / enet consortium welcomes the Department’s decision recognising our commitment and expertise to deliver Ireland’s National Broadband Plan. We have built a unique team of industry specialists with global resources and experience which is matched with local knowledge and trust. Our promise is to deliver world-class high speed broadband to every home, farm and business in the intervention area, which covers much of Ireland’s most rural regions.”
“In establishing this consortium, we have presented the State with the world’s top experts in building networks, particularly in telecoms, to work alongside the Irish government. This will ensure that this critical project is developed on time, on budget, and in compliance with industry standards on an unconflicted open-access wholesale basis. The fact that we have assembled this world-class team reflects our commitment to Ireland and our understanding of the importance, scale and complexity of the project.”
“Our partners John Laing are specialist investors in greenfield infrastructure projects and have been responsible for the delivery of some of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects internationally on behalf of public sector partners. Further financial resources and deep infrastructure expertise is provided by our partners 3i Infrastructure, whose team has invested in over 200 infrastructure assets in partnership with the public sector, including notably the successful development of the PPP65 Rural Broadband Project in France.”
The NBP represents the latest bid in a strong heritage of PPPs from Granahan McCourt Capital, whose work with state bodies, semi-state bodies and other public affiliates, including enet itself, is well known. The firm also recently announced a joint venture in Saudi Arabia, recognised as the first PPP following the state’s Vision 2030 reform plans which aim to open up opportunities for outside investment and partnerships to help the Kingdom compete on the world stage with new technological developments.
“Throughout my 30-year career, we have developed a long heritage of improving connectivity and lowering costs in technologically underserved regions of the world, which has pioneered the roll out of telecom networks of substantial scale. We know this experience will prove to be crucial for the NBP”, said McCourt.
Conal Henry, CEO of enet, added: “As the largest independent telecoms network in Ireland, enet has been dedicated to the NBP since the first days of the consultation, and is committed to its success from a policy and a commercial perspective. Delivery of open-access wholesale fibre-based broadband services on an unconflicted basis is what enet does successfully in Ireland every day.”
“Working with the government on the NBP will allow enet to continue our long-standing relationship with the State. It will also build on the success of our recent initial fibre to the home deployment, a gigabit network in rural North Kerry, where we have already had a vital and major impact on the range, quality and value of broadband in the area.”
The NBP is a major landmark in the development of telecommunications in Ireland that aims to radically transform the country’s broadband landscape. The project will ensure that all homes and businesses have access to high-speed broadband regardless of location, and will be accomplished through a combination of commercial and state-led investment.
