Mayo in bottom five counties for broadband speeds

Áine Ryan

MAYO is among the bottom five counties for broadband speeds in the country. It joins the rural counties of Leitrim, Roscommon, Monaghan and Longford, which has the lowest average speed, according to a new survey.
Data published last week by consumer website switcher.ie reveals there are parts of the country which experience broadband speeds up to 36 times slower than others.
 The survey also confirms that ‘as few as a quarter of households (25 percent) could be receiving speeds of 30Mbps or more, the minimum target set out in the National Broadband Plan’. Tellingly, the average broadband speed in Dublin is 45 Mbps (megabytes per second) while it is just 11.78 Mbps in County Mayo.
Responding to the survey’s findings, Fianna FΡil TD, Lisa Chambers, said she was  ‘unsurprised by the latest reports on broadband speeds, which have found that Mayo is one of the worst served counties in the country’.
 “Anyone living or working in Mayo is more than familiar with the substandard broadband service that is available here. It’s a major issue for businesses who are struggling to remain competitive in an online environment, and are unable to undertake basic services like sending emails because the broadband provision is so poor,” Deputy Chambers said.
“The last government’s record on broadband is an absolute disgrace and the new administration isn’t dealing with the issue either.  The National Broadband Plan has fallen well behind its original targets and instead of taking concrete action to ensure that broadband is rolled out, the government is continuing to move the goalposts.
“The National Broadband Plan, first published in 2012, promised that high speed broadband would be available in 90 percent of homes and businesses by the end of 2015, that was changed to 85 percent by 2019, before a pledge of 100 percent by 2022 was made.  Now it looks like it will be 2023 before the plan will be delivered.  This is a ridiculous situation,” she continued.
Ms Chambers asked how is County Mayo ‘to attract outside investment if the broadband capabilities are not up to scratch’?
 “This is another example of this government’s complete neglect of rural Ireland,” she added.
The survey was based on almost 27,000 consumer speed tests run by broadband users between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016. It shows that Legan, County Longford was the slowest area, with average broadband speeds 36 times slower than Drimnagh in Dublin 12.