4,000 local homes in broadband blackspots to be connected this year

(Above) Minister of State Peter Burke.

More than 4,000 homes and businesses in the Mullingar area will be able to receive high speed broadband later this year as the local rollout of the National Broadband Plan gathers pace.

The news was revealed this week by Minister of State Peter Burke following a virtual meeting with the CEO of National Broadband Ireland (NBI), Peter Hendrick and TJ Malone, CEO of National Broadband Ireland Deployment, responsible for the design and build of the NBI nationwide network infrastructure, the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification.

In total, 4,109 premises located in broadband blackspots in the greater Mullingar area are scheduled to be connected between August and October of this year. According to NBI’s figures, there are 11,721 local premises situated in blackspots. The government, which has committed €46m to the rollout of the NBP in Westmeath, says that 42% of the 11,721 premises will be connected to a high speed broadband network by the end of 2022.

Welcoming the news about the 4,109 premises in the Mullingar area, Minister Burke said that he has made numerous representations of behalf of local families and businesses that up to now have been able to receive high speed broadband.

While families in the Mullingar area should have high speed broadband this autumn, the wait continues for thousands of other families in rural locations. It is a problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, Deputy Burke said.

“I also raised the issue of rural broadband which is vital for our communities across the county. Due to the sheer scale of the project and the commitment that every single home will be provided with broadband, the project length is six years. Most premises in this county will be complete ahead of this, but still it is too long for us to wait. Further funding has been provided by the Government and the Tánaiste has prioritised this through the remote working strategy.

“I have been advised today that talks are ongoing with Eir to shorten the overall duration and provide broadband in a speedier fashion. Resources are not the issue here, or staff; NBI currently have 900 full time workers and are currently recruiting more, so that their full staff will shortly total 1800. I explained in detail how vital it is for Rural Ireland to get this broadband so we can continue to compete and provide employment and opportunities in our rural towns and villages.”

While he said “it is imperative that every rural home can have reliable broadband for work and for educational purposes”, Deputy Burke noted for those households who have not yet been surveyed there is another option.

“Broadband Connection Points are sites across the county where you can access high speed broadband, with remote working options being developed. We have seven community centres as well as 17 schools included in this list, which is available online or from my office.

“If you have a query about the plan for your house or business, you can log on to NBI and input your Eircode to find out more. You can also be added to an email mailing list to be updated on the scheduled roll out plan for your area.

“Providing broadband to our regional and rural homes, businesses and farms is critical and is a political priority for my team. I continue to engage with NBI and explore options with the tánaiste and government partners to speed up the delivery of the NBP and serve Westmeath homes with high speed broadband as soon as possible,” he said.

Nationally, NBI have 544,000 premises to provide broadband to and physical surveys must be carried out for each of those individually. The build involves a design stage for each home/business, followed by pre-works, readying existing structures, upgrading and adding poles and ducts, laying fibre, preparing other facilities and fulfilling local authority requirements such as tree trimming. At this point, NBI “pass” the premises with fibre and the customer can order broadband from existing providers such as Eir, Vodafone and Virgin Media who manage the retail end, with NBI as the wholesaler.