End in sight for national broadband roll-out in Mayo
NATIONAL Broadband Plan (NBP) works in Mayo will be 70% completed by this summer.
Mayo's broadband officer, Danny O'Toole, said the NBP represents a €145 million investment in the county, with large swathes of the county already available for connection.
In an update to Westport-Belmullet Municipal District councillors, Mr. O'Toole said by the end of this year every home in the country will have access to fibre connectivity, with the contract with NBI on schedule to be delivered by Q4.
At the moment it's mainly middle to east Mayo that's left to be delivered, and a lot of it will be done by summer, with a few remaining areas for later in the year.
Areas remaining to be connected, and their build start dates in 2026, are: Ballinrobe (Q2), Claremorris (Q4), Kiltimagh (Q1), Knock (Q2), Manulla (Q4), Cloonfad (Q3), Dooleeg (Q4), Knockmore (Q4) and Clare Island (Q1).
Councillors welcomed the progress but raised their frustrations about ongoing phone connectivity issues in various black spots, from Clare Island to Louisburgh and Achill, and calls dropping along the R312 between Belmullet and Castlebar.
Coverage on Clare Island was described as 'non-existent at times' by Councillor Chris Maxwell and the community were at their wits end.
Mr. O'Toole asked councillors to log their complaints with him and he would follow up with service providers.
Coverage is an ongoing issue along travel corridors, but it's moving in the right direction, he said.
He also had some 'self help' advice: Coverage in newer A-rate homes can be poor as they are so well insulated. Enabling wi-fi calling - a quick setting on your phone - allows calls to go out over the copper connection.
It's only a small thing, but it affects a lot of people, he said.
An issue of concern raised by Erris-based Councillor Sean Carey was the removal of landline services.
He knew of an 87-year-old man, livign alone, who received a letter to say his utility company would no longer be providing a landline service and to contact them for broadband. They said the landline would end in October, which it did.
Broadband did come to the house next door, but it stopped there, not going down to his end house in the village.
He was months without the service he needed for his security pendant, which was distressing for him. For the provider to be able to do that was wrong, said Councillor Carey, and an alternative service should have been provided.
Mr. O'Toole said the pendants is a concern. He explained that once an area is passed by the NBP and connectivity is available, a national 'copper switch-off' is taking place.
A lot of copper service providers are discontinuing service because of that, in the knowledge that the customer can order fibre connectivity as they have been passed by the NBP.
The majority of pendants now will work over fibre broadband, he added. They don't need copper.
* Published under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme