‘Shambolic’ rollout of Broadband
CORK North West TD, Aindrias Moynihan, has said that it is simply inexcusable in 2017 that people across the county are unable to rely on broadband internet and work from home, if they so choose.
“The rollout of the National Broadband Plan has been nothing short of shambolic, and the Government are working at the speed of a 1990s dial-up connection”, said the Fianna Fáil TD.
Deputy Moynihan’s comments come amid what he said are the increasing number of complaints he is now dealing with on the issue - and it’s not confined to rural areas.
“This isn’t a rural issue alone. There are parts of the county, close to the city, that just cannot get access to decent broadband.
“People living in Ballinora, Ovens and all the way out to Ballingeary are often left without decent broadband, or no broadband at all,” he said. “In the Templemartin and Crossbarry areas, for example, many people would like to access quality broadband services so that they can work from home or even just access the internet to engage with various government departments.”
“The Government expect farmers to submit many documents and forms to the Department of Agriculture online, but I’m being told of situations where halfway through the process, residents’ broadband connections simply cut out.”
“I’ve raised this issue with the Minister for Communications, and his answer is deeply frustrating,” he added. “The Minister has informed me that Templemartin has been designated as an ‘amber’ area. This is supposed to ensure a special state intervention to ensure the provision of broadband. It is expected that homes and businesses within this area will have access to services of at least 30 mb per second when the new network is rolled out there,” he said.
But even this target is too low: “30 mbps is woefully low as a target when the US government have already determined that anything less than 50 mbps cannot be classed as broadband.
“We need foresight from the Department of Communications. We need a realisation that due to the major delays in rolling out the NBP the standards set in 2011 or 2012 are now out of date.
“Without such forward planning, we will be many years behind our global competitors,” said Deputy Moynihan.