Broadband Blackspots: Homes and businesses blighted by snail's pace rollout

At a time when we are more reliant than ever on WiFi in our homes, the slow rate of rollout of fibre broadband in Meath is very frustrating for the those living in the many blackspots around the county who have a very poor service.

The Covid pandemic saw many people working from home and during lockdowns, schools were relying on zoom calls, email and different apps as a way of communicating and teaching.

All of this went relatively smoothly for those who have decent broadband, but for those in the many blackspots throughout the county, it caused huge levels of frustration with their broadband service simply not able to cope with the demand.

National Broadband Ireland has the contract to connect fibre broadband to homes where it was not economically viable for Eir to roll out the infrastructure. What is particularly frustrating for many residents is that they are far from down the end of a rural boreen and there are many homes in villages around the county that still don't have access to fibre broadband and are still years away from getting it.

Areas like Kilmessan and Kilberry are still without a decent service, while all around the county there are similar stories of areas that are still not connected.

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O'Rourke, says he is very frustrated with the rate of rollout of the National Broadband Plan and believes an update provided to the Oireachtas Communications and Transport Committee by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) will provide very little solace to people in Co Meath.

In response to questions from Deputy O'Rourke, NBI indicated that they expect to have 2,640 premises (out of 19,000) ready for connection in the county by the end of this year.

Deputy O'Rourke said: "Last week, NBI were before the Oireachtas Communications and Transport Committee to address missed targets and delays in broadband rollout, and also to discuss recent reports regarding the labyrinthine governance and financing structures at the company.

"Regarding the rollout in Meath, we know that there are roughly 19,000 premises in the NBI 'intervention area' in the county, and that not one home has been connected so far. In responses to questions from me, the Chief Executive Officer at NBI Deployment, TJ Malone, indicated that 50 per cent of intervention area premises in the county are surveyed (the first step in the process).

"By the end of the year NBI expect this to be in the region of 83-85 per cent. They further indicate that they have 14 per cent of the build commenced and by the end of the year they expect to have about 45 per cent in the 'built or under construction' phase. This equates to 8,310 premises. Of this, they expect that 2,640 premises in the county will be 'passed' and ready for connection. At that stage, NBI will be going into the fourth year of a seven year programme and they will still be behind the targets set out in the initial contract. This is very frustrating for people struggling with poor coverage.

"Regarding subsequent years, NBI confirmed that they intend to have 60 per cent of premises built or under construction by the end of 2023 and 95 per cent built or under construction by the end of 2024. However, these targets are very dependent on NBI's ability to speed up the rate of rollout, and also raise the question about the difference between 'built' and 'under construction'. 'Built' is the all-important measure.

"The NBP is undoubtedly complex but the responsibility for its rollout lies with NBI and they are well paid for their services. Existing delays are incredibly frustrating. Future delays will be inexcusable. The plan needs to get back on track."

A spokesperson for Eir told the Meath Chronicle : “Eir continues to rollout fibre broadband across Meath, in total we will pass 66,421 premises with Gigabit Fibre Broadband and to date, more than 23,400 of those homes and businesses have been passed, with additional premises added week on week.”

- Send us your stories and experiences of broadband in Co Meath. Email Noelle.Finegan@meathchronicle.ie