Competitors cry foul over National Broadband Plan provider getting nationwide remit

Winning bidder can compete with operators across country instead of being confined to the 540k premises covered by rural internet scheme

The winning bidder for the National Broadband Plan will be free to compete with operators across the entire country rather than being confined to the 540,000 premises covered by the rural internet scheme, according to new documents seen by The Sunday Business Post.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), owned by US businessmen David McCourt and Walter Scott Jr, was recently named as the preferred bidder for the multi-billion state scheme.

The Department of Communications ...