Minister of State and local TD Fergus O’Dowd welcomed the announcement
A number of rural areas of the county are set to benefit from high-speed broadband following last week’s announcement by Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte of a major infrastructure roll-out.
Amongst the areas set to benefit include Blackrock, Dromin, Grangebellew, Greenore, Jenkinstown, Kilcurly, Readypenny, Smarmore and Stabannon, as well as other areas in the south of the county such as Monasterboice, Baltray and Beaulieu.
The news was welcomed by local TD Fergus O’Dowd, who said that broadband was a necessity in modern Ireland and should be available in all areas.
“The announcement of a major broadband build out to rural, with fibre as a cornerstone, under the National Broadband Plan means that a State-led intervention will ensure that quality broadband will be delivered to areas in Louth even if there is no commercial package available” he said.
“In order to definitively address Ireland’s connectivity challenges the Government has recognised that the focus must now shift to a solution with fibre as the key component underpinning whatever technology delivers the broadband service (fixed or wireless).
“We have identified areas that have locations that currently have no fibre or will not receive fibre under planned interventions by the commercial sector (including ESB, eircom and others).
“Other towns or areas may not be on the list because there are plans by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services in these areas.
“Consumers in these towns or areas may not be aware of planned commercial services.
“The provision of this essential network infrastructure should remove existing cost barriers preventing commercial operators from providing high speed services to end users.
“In essence, we will provide the infrastructure necessary to enable commercial operators to deliver high-speed broadband directly to those who need it.
“Once the fibre is installed, there will be a pause to allow the opportunity for commercial operators to invest in the provision of high speed broadband services in the areas served by the fibre, after which the State will invest in those areas where commercial operators continue to have a challenging business case.
“There will also be a demand-based scheme where consumers and businesses can come together and request connection to the fibre network.
“It is envisaged that such a scheme will accelerate the extension of the planned fibre build out to areas outside those towns and villages initially targeted.
“The speeds achieveable for each user with fibre will now not be dependent on the distance from the local exchange, as was previously the case.
“For consumers, for example, these speeds will now enable you to watch high-definition television online, no matter what other online activities are taking place on the home network at the same time.”
No date has been given for work to begin on the project but Minister Rabbitte said that he will publish a comprehensive implementation strategy later this year.
