The Minister for Communications Denis Naughten says he is not disappointed that one of the main bidders for the national broadband plan has pulled out.
Siro - a joint venture launched by Vodafone and the ESB - is no longer looking for the contract.
Eir and Enet are the only firms left to compete.
The Government first announced the National Broadband rollout in 2012, but five years later it has yet to get off the ground.
"We have two very high-profile bidders involved that have a huge amount of international backup behind them," said Denis Naughten.
"It's an exciting time at this stage, we're now coming into the final stages of the procurement process."