Ireland’s telecoms companies may have to submit annual network resilience reports as part of a new safeguarding plan in an era of worsening climate change and extreme weather events.
Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan recently met with industry figures in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, the most damaging to services in recorded history.
Input from broadband and mobile operators, as well as subsea cable operators, is currently being sought to help identify “the key impacts of climate change on communication networks”, according to documents prepared for the Minister.
This will help develop a response strategy – known as a sectoral adaptation plan (Sap) – for adoption later this year in line with various European Union directives. A draft plan is due this summer.
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“The importance of resilient telecoms network infrastructure will only increase further with advances in telemedicine, autonomous vehicles, manufacturing automation, smart agriculture, and AI-driven solutions. Industry is forecasting exponential growth in these types of applications,” the note, accessed through freedom of information, said.
As well as other network threats, the Sap will take into account climate-driven events such as violent storms, increased precipitation, coastal surges and erosion, snowfalls and heatwaves.
Copper and fibre lines suspended on timber poles; street cabinets housing active electronic elements for fibre networks; and landing stations for international submarine cables have all been identified as “potentially vulnerable components”.
Storm Éowyn occurred in the middle of the consultation process, allowing telecoms companies to reflect on its impact and their responses to it.
Peak loss to fixed services during the storm reached 10 per cent of users, while mobile services lost as much as 35 per cent.
As part of the plan, potential actions include “requiring annual reports on the implementation of adaptation measures by mobile and broadband operators”.
Exploring the provision of funding for resilience-focused network upgrades and the expansion of power self-sufficiency at key network sites is also under review. It recommends that planning authorities are also made aware of issues, for instance “while mobile-phone masts that house batteries may be more visually obtrusive or have a larger footprint, they provide an essential, critical service”.
The Sap will follow other governance efforts at European level. The second EU Networks and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) and the EU Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER) regulate minimum standards for the resilience, risk and incident management. The CER directive was transposed into law by the Department of Defence in 2024.
ComReg, the industry regulator, is to conduct a risk assessment and establish a list of entities that will fall under NIS2 and CER regulations. Communications systems such as those affected by Éowyn – including Tetra, Government networks, airnav and coast guard – are expected to fall under its scope.
In a statement on behalf of the telecoms sector in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, Ibec noted that modern communications rely on electricity to power networks.
“Network operators planned ahead and responded immediately and effectively to the devastating and unprecedented impact of Storm Éowyn by redeploying all available personnel to send approximately 1,800 staff who have made thousands of site visits to carry out repairs in affected areas,” it said.
