Lack of high-speed broadband ‘a major disadvantage’ to rural areas – McNamara

SOME rural areas will be at ‘a major disadvantage’ if they cannot access the same broadband speeds as urban areas, according to an Achill-based county councillor.

Speaking at Mayo Council’s Economic Development SPC, Cllr Paul McNamara said the businesses and households needed to have access to high-speed broadband to be competitive with urban areas.

Cllr McNamara was reacting to a presentation from Paul Mulqueen, Head of Product with National Broadband Ireland (NBI), who said that 20 percent of eligible connections were connected to the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

The Fianna Fáil councillor said broadband had become ‘a lifeline’ for remote rural areas since the growth in remote working.

The plan aims to connect over 37,000 premises in Mayo by the end of 2026.

“It’s really closing off the rural areas and the rural, rural areas if this doesn’t happen, and that’s the big concern I have, that we would have a €145 million but only part of County Mayo will flourish from that,” said Cllr McNamara.

Mr Mulqueen assured Cllr McNamara that every eligible premises in Achill would have access to broadband speeds of over 30 mbps by December 2026.

He added that every premises must have access to a minimum speed of 1gbps as part of the European Gigabit Infrastructure Act which is due by 2030.

“There is no premises that will not be connected to the National Broadband Plan or to a fibre operator within the next number of years,” Mr Mulqueen said.

Responding to follow-up questions from Cllr McNamara, Mr Mulqueen said that each premises connected to the NBP would have access to ‘the same product’.

“If we’re delivering to them, it will be the same speed as it will be on an island as it will be in Castlebar,” said Mr Mulqueen.

“If NBI are delivering the network, it’s the same network whether it’s on an island or whether it’s in rural Ireland, in The Black Valley, whether it’s in Blacksod…or it’s in Castlebar.”

Cllr McNamara described his response as a ‘mixed message’, reiterating concerns that rural areas ‘would not have the same opportunity’ as urban areas due to slower broadband speeds.

A total of €145 million is to be spent on connecting over 37,000 premises in Mayo with broadband speed of a minimum of 30mbps.

Of these, 7,500 have been built, with another 3,500 to come on stream next year.

The NBP will cover every premises in so-called ‘intervention areas’ which do not have access to a connection of 30mbps over more. The plan aims to connect over 564,000 homes, farms and businesses by the end of 2026.