Rural broadband a ‘long way away’ for some parts of county
RURAL areas of Co Wexford having access to fibre optic broadband is ‘a long way away’ according to one member of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council.
Speaking at this month’s meeting of the local authority, in the wake of a presentation on the topic from officials, Cllr Johnny Mythen said: ‘Rural broadband is a long way away; fibre optic cables are very expensive.
SIRO, a collaborative venture between ESB and Vodafone, was launched in 2015 with the aim of rolling out an ultra fast broadband network throughout Ireland.
However, at the meeting Cllr Mythen said SIRO will not roll it out in certain areas because ‘it’s too expensive’ to do so.
‘At the moment there are a lot of people out there who are not getting it [fibre optic broadband],’ he said.
Cllr Mythen said farmers are using broadband to run their farms now, highlighting the need to have adequate access.
In response to his comments Senior Executive Officer with the Co Council, David Minogue, confirmed nothing is likely to change in the short term.
‘They are not likely to get fibre in the near future,’ he said.
‘However, they could get wireless,’ he added. Mr Minogue went on to comment that the broadband outlook is bleak for certain people.
‘There are people out there who will never get fibre broadband,’ he said.
Cllr Willie Kavanagh reminded the members that a fibre optic cable is running beside the new bypass.
Mr Minogue then said: ‘That is being done on new infrastructure like motorways and dual carriageways.’