Broadband Blackspots: Surveying for National Broadband Plan in Meath

As householders and employers across the county share their experiences and frustrations accessing high-speed internet service, National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) confirmed surveying works in Meath are well underway.

NBI is the Government’s initiative to deliver high-speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland through intervention by the State in those parts of the country where private companies have indicated they have no plans to invest.

The State Intervention Area includes over 554,000 premises and over 1.1 million people and includes any new homes built in the Intervention Area over the next 25 years.

In Meath, according to NBI, there are 20,384 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools. This equates to 22% of all premises in the county.

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A spokesperson for NBI said that crews have made substantial progress in Meath, where the following areas have been surveyed: Hill of Down and Navan. These initial works pave the way for the next stage of deploying fibre on poles/ducts and includes the erection of poles, unblocking of ducts, and the insertion of sub duct into existing ducts, for the fibre to be installed.

"Under the National Broadband Plan, Meath will see an investment of €76m in the new high speed fibre network. This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working."

In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home roll out, the NBP requires the installation of Broadband Connection Points (BCP’s) nationwide. 454 of these sites are now ‘live’ and have both internal and external broadband access. These facilities - which include GAA clubs, community centres and tourist sites – will provide free public access to high speed internet in the rollout area. There are 10 BCPs in Meath.

According to NBI these will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism. A full list can be found at https://nbi.ie/bcp-map/.

Locations of Broadband Connection Points in county Meath will include Teach Raithneach Heritage and Cultural Centre, Meath Hill Community Centre, iDesk Cormeen and Rathkenny Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.

NBI Chief Executive Peter Hendrick said: “Momentum has been steadily building in the progression of the National Broadband Plan rollout, with homes across the country being connected to high-speed broadband. Our teams have been, and continue to do so, work on the rollout plan and substantial progress has been made from surveying, design, build to connection works.”

“As an increasing number of homes and businesses are being connected, we are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as we look to connect thousands more homes and businesses. We are acutely aware that people want access to high-speed broadband and our goal is to deliver that as quickly as possible.”

“Survey and designs are an important part of mapping out how every home, farm and business will be connected, and they provide the blueprint for how the NBI fibre is laid. The BCPs are also a key milestone in delivering access to high-speed internet in the Intervention Area, and we’re delighted to see these being connected for access - internally and externally - right across the county.”

NBI’s website www.nbi.ie has a search tool to enable the public to check whether their premises is within the rollout area, and to show indicative dates for areas being surveyed. NBI’s contact centre can be reached at 0818 624 624 (lo-call) or contactus@nbi.ie.

All NBI contractors will also carry official ID cards and essential worker letters, and have received training on adhering to all Covid 19 guidelines. They will have vehicles, PPE and signage with both their own, and NBI logos.

The Intervention Area can be viewed using the Government’s High Speed Broadband Map (www.broadband.gov.ie) which shows the areas which are included in the National Broadband Plan. The map is colour coded and searchable by address and Eircode.

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