Knock airport area left without high speed broadband for years because network was not switched on

AN area around Knock Airport has been left without broadband for years despite the presence of a broadband network that has not been switched.

Cllr Gerry Murray said that the MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), which was completed by Westel Utilities, has not been switched on, leaving hundreds of local households without ‘state of the art broadband’.

The MAN was delivered as part of an EU-funded investment which cost between €2 million and €3 million to deliver.

Cllr Murray told the monthly-meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District said that there had been unsuccessful attempts to find a private company ‘who could literally flick the switch’ to make it operational.

The Sinn Féin councillor said he was unaware it was currently operational and sought clarity on the matter.

Cllr Murray made his comments following a presentation from SIRO, a private company currently rolling out fibre broadband in urban parts of Mayo.

“It’s an extraordinary scenario,” remarked Cllr Murray.

“We have a piece of infrastructure in East Mayo that, with the flick of a switch, would have solved the infrastructural deficit as far back as 2009,” he added.

Danny O’Toole, Head of Digital Development & Broadband, said the matter had been brought to his attention.

“It is on my desk, and I will come back to the meeting, if necessary, with an update on that when I have one,” he told the meeting.

Mr O’Toole said that the National Broadband Plan (NBP) was progressing ‘a lot slower than we’d like it to be.’

Through commercial enterprise and state intervention, the Government aims to deliver high-speed broadband to every household in the country by the end of 2026.

Cllr Murray said that Eir should be nationalised under a Sinn Féin government, claiming the NBI was costing ‘multiples’ of what it cost for a public utility to deliver widespread broadband connectivity.

To date, NBI has received a state subsidy totalling over €550 million.