Tag Archives: Broadband

Business/Property, News

Work Underway To Install High-Speed Broadband In Black Valley

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Pictured in the Black Valley on Tuesday were Joe Lavin, Hazel Casanova and TJ Malone, National Broadband Ireland (NBI). Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD.

NATIONAL Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the National Broadband Plan (NBP) has today hosted a media event in Black Valley as works are under way to install the NBI high-speed fibre broadband network in the remote location which is expected to be live in the second half of the year with residents already able to pre-order their connection.

NBI Deployment CEO, TJ Malone, was present for the event which also included representatives from the local council.

In his opening remarks, Mr Malone said:  ”As a significant national rollout of essential infrastructure, the National Broadband Plan is often rightly compared to rural electrification. It is well known that Black Valley was one of the last locations to get electricity due to its remoteness and challenging terrain, so we are extremely pleased to be commencing the rollout of our high-speed fibre network now with a view to connections being available later this year.

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“We are determined to ensure the rollout is as fast as possible and connection is made easy for Black Valley residents, and we have a plan in place to work around the location’s all-important tourist season. We also put in place an early pre-order facility from February 1st specifically to facilitate residents as this will enable preliminary connection works in the main build phase and save time later.

“Black Valley is a symbol of NBI’s mission that no area will be left behind no matter how rural or remote and we are delighted that this beautiful location moves one step closer to high-speed fibre today, with all the opportunities that will unlock for the local community,” he added.

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News

Rollout Of National Broadband Plan Is Not Fast Enough Says Green Party Representative

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Anluan Dunne.

THE roll out of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) to rural Kerry is not progressing as quick as it should, according to Green Party Tralee Representative, Anluan Dunne.

As of January 2023, 27,682 premises had fibre connections made available across all 26 counties. By January, there were 6,466 premises that were available to order or pre-order high-speed, reliable broadband in the Killarney and Tralee Deployment Areas, with 1,593 connections already made to the network.

Mr. Dunne said: “Rural high speed broadband is a necessity for every household, farm, local shop, school and business. I work in technology and would be unable to live in Kerry were it not for the fibre broadband connection available to me.”

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“We have an opportunity, post-pandemic, to attract people to our county but there is a lack of fibre broadband connectivity in many areas where housing is available. Investing in rural Ireland involves making working and living in rural areas possible through the provision of critical infrastructure like this. I have written to Minister Ossian Smyth urgently seeking accelerated roll out of rural broadband in Kerry. Having a diverse mix of employment is important. Rural Kerry is not only farming and tourism. It’s a great place to work, as I do, for technology firms or other businesses who have embraced remote working. The potential economic and community benefits are huge.”

“We have many areas of outstanding natural beauty in Kerry where people would love to live, but due to a lack of low latency broadband it’s a non-runner for them. To date, areas such as The Black Valley, which was the last part of Ireland to be electrified in the mid 1970s, have been overlooked again. We need to deliver for these communities far quicker than we have to date.

“At present people in The Black Valley are again last on the list for a critical piece of infrastructure and I think this is wrong. I have asked the Minister to consider funding accelerated deployment of high-speed broadband in Kerry. This would bring huge benefits to local communities, support schools & sports clubs and help to drive economic activity,” said Mr Dunner

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Business/Property, News

Council Invites Public To Webinar To Launch Kerry’s First Community Broadband Hub

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KERRY County Council is inviting members of the public to a webinar event on Friday next to mark the launch of the county’s first Community Broadband Hub, delivered under the National Broadband Plan.

The first Connect Communities Hub or Broadband Connection Point (BCP) to be launched in Kerry is at the historic Cable Station, in Knightstown, Valentia.

The Cable Station is considered the birthplace of global telecommunications so it is fitting that it is a marquee site for the local community to access fibre-powered broadband, pending the full roll-out of fibre speed broadband to every home and premises in the county under the National Broadband Plan.

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BCP’s will support a variety of community needs, in particular facilitating remote work and online learning, as well as support other Digital creativity.

Because of public health guidance during COVID19, the launch will be a fully online event. Kerry County Council will be hosting a webinar which the public can attend. It will take place on Friday, October 16 at 10am and last for approximately 35 minutes.

Members of the public can register for this free event via the Council website or here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6662984799512295181

A panel of guest speakers, including Moira Murrell – Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Peter Hendrick – Chief Executive of National Broadband Ireland and Leonard Hobbs – Director at Trinity Research & Innovation (TCD) will join other speakers and local hub users to talk about the communications past and digital future of the Cable Station Hub, about the rollout of BCP’s in communities across Kerry and how members of the local community can now use the hub.

Business/Property, News

€113m To Be Invested In Kerry Under National Broadband Plan

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THE roll out of high-speed broadband to over 28,000 premises in Kerry has moved one step closer, as the Government announced that work to finalise the contract for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) is well progressed.

Kerry will receive an investment of €113 million to provide fibre broadband to 28,706 homes in the Intervention Area (IA).

This is a mapped area of rural Ireland where high-speed broadband is currently not commercially available and it encompasses over half a million premises, including 56,000 farms and 44,000 businesses.

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In Kerry, this includes areas such as Ballyhar, Valentia Island and Banemore. In total,32% of all premises in Kerry will be passed and eligible for connection.

The high-speed broadband is set to revolutionise working and home life for many who have had limited or congested connectivity up until now.

Commenting on the latest news, Ken Tobin of Tralee Chamber Alliance said, “We welcome this very significant investment of €113million for the provision of high-speed broadband to over 28,000 homes and businesses in Kerry. This signifies a considerable step towards addressing the competitive challenges for the more rural areas of the county to attract jobs and enterprise. This investment will enable a great number of community groups and small businesses but in particular, the investment will open up opportunities for even more people to return and work in Kerry”.

NBI chief executive Peter Hendrick said his team are continuing to work hard to ensure contract close in the coming months; “Some members of the team recently met with regional service providers – including several from Kerry – for information briefings about how their businesses can integrate with the NBP. We have also initiated a regional communications campaign to ensure local media and public representatives are provided with up to date and important information regarding the project, to ensure they can deliver that to the public. We look forward to engaging with local communities in the future once the contract is signed and we start our work across Ireland”.

“In addition to the €113 million we will be investing in Kerry, we will also be creating 2,000 jobs across rural Ireland with the national roll-out of broadband, which will be a substantial boost to the local economies. Access to broadband will also create secondary employment to existing local business and enterprises which have been struggling to compete in the current digital economy” added Donal Hanrahan, Head of Deployment, NBI.

News

Tralee Will Have Broadband Coverage On A Par With Tokyo Next Year

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Tralee is included in Phase 1 of SIRO’s rollout of high-speed broadband network.

TRALEE will access to the fastest broadband in the country next year as a new company begins work on putting the infrastructure in place from December.

When the work is finished, 13,500 homes in town will have access to broadband speeds of 1GB per second, on a par with cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong.

At a presentation to Tralee Municipal District councillors on Monday, Stephen O’Connor of SIRO briefed councillors on what the company does and its plans in Tralee.

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SIRO is a joint venture company between ESB and Vodafone to deliver a 100% fibre-to-the-building broadband network, with speeds of up to 1000Mbps, for the first time in Ireland.

He said people will be seeing SIRO vans around town from December 1 when work starts on the network. They will be using the services of local company, TLI, to connect homes and businesses.

He said work – which will start in the Oakpark area – should take around nine months to complete, but by next September people will be able to get 1GB (1,000Mbps) per second upload and download speeds.

This is four times faster than the best internet connection in Dublin at the moment and akin to speeds experienced in major cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong, he told councillors.

Tralee is one of just ten towns to be included in phase one of SIRO’s plan. When their work in Tralee is finished, consumers will be able to access the service by taking broadband plans with retailers like such as Vodafone.

An information meeting for businesses is being planned by SIRO for early next year to brief people on the company’s plans.

For more information on SIRO and their roll-out plans, check out their website here

Business/Property, News

Eircom Announce Investment In High-Speed Broadband For Rural Kerry

 

EircomRURAL areas in rural areas around Tralee and all over Kerry are to get greater broadband services announced Eircom today.

Minister Jimmy Deenihan has welcomed Eircom’s announcement that they are to significantly expand access to high speed fibre broadband in rural Ireland benefiting a number of areas in Kerry.

In Kerry, broadband will be expanded to Annascaul, Asdee, Ballyferriter, Blackwater Bridge, Ballinskelligs, Ballylongford, Brosna, Ballydavid, Caragh Lake, Castlegregory, Cloghane, Clonkeen, Caherdaniel, Dromartin Cross, Finuge, Fenit, Fybagh, Glencar, Headford, Inch, Knocknagoshel, Lyracrompane, Lauragh, Portmagee, Scartaglin, Sneem, Tuosist and  Ventry.

This means Eircom will invest €400 million in fibre over the next five years.

“The National Broadband Plan is a partnership between the commercial sector and the State to deliver high speed broadband to every home, school and business in Ireland. The Government has played a major role in creating the conditions for accelerated telecoms investment by highlighting to broadband providers the potential profit to be made by expanding into rural areas and by securing commitments from them to invest. Today’s investment is a clear indication that eircom recognises the opportunities in this market,” said Minister Deenihan.

“Initial commercial plans to provide high-speed access to one million homes by 2015 have now expanded into a commitment to provide access to 1.6 million homes by the end of 2016, and 1.9 million homes by 2020. Eircom’s announcement means the element of the National Broadband Plan that requires State intervention is likely to reduce significantly. The Minister for Communications, Alex White is expected to publish the State intervention strategy in July with a view to moving to formal procurement by the end of this year.  Roll-out will commence in 2016,” said Minister Deenihan

News

Govt Plan For Super Fast Broadband In Rural Kerry

Eircom broadband router.
Eircom broadband router.

OVER 50,000 premises in Kerry are set to get highspeed broadband as part of the government’s pledge to end the urban and rural digital divide.

In Kerry, an estimated 5,700 kms of fibre cable will be rolled out which will bring speeds of 1000 Mb/s to homes across the county.

The Government has identified a total of 700,000 homes nationwide that will benefit from ‘Intervention Footprint’ scheme.

The tender for the National Broadband plan is expected to issue in late 2015. The first homes will be connected in 2016, with the final homes expected to be connected by 2020. Pricing for broadband products will be the same in rural areas as they are in urban locations.

The announcement of eircom’s proposed rural fibre rollout comes as its existing over €9 million commercial broadband rollout in Kerry continues to make significant progress.

By the end of 2016 eircom will have rolled out high-speed broadband at speeds up 100Mb/s to approximately 38,000 homes and businesses in 33 communities across Kerry.

The National Broadband Plan tender will support the rollout of high-speed broadband to the remainder of County Kerry.

Eircom has started work on Kerry’s first Fibre to the Home network in Tralee,making it amongst the first locations in the country to receive this state of the art technology.

This new FTTH network will see broadband speeds of up 1000Mb/s go live from September 2015, as 100% direct fibre connection is rolled out in housing estates across the town.  Killarney is also part of the 1000Mb/s rollout programme.

These speeds will be the highest broadband speeds currently available in Ireland – on a par with any network in Europe – and up to 4 times the highest broadband speed accessible in Dublin.

These speeds will be the highest broadband speeds currently available in Ireland – on a par with any network in Europe- and up to 4 times the highest broadband speed accessible in Dublin.

Eircom has already planned to bring high-speed broadband access to 1.6 million premises by next year, it is committed to tender for this National Broadband Plan and ensure that these further 700,000 have access to high quality, high-speed broadband.

A super fast internet line called ‘Fibre To The Home’ (FTTH) with speeds of up to 1000 Mb/s has successfully trialled in the village of Belcarra in Mayo.

Monday marked the successful completion of that trial which was celebrated by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD and Minister for Communications, Alex White TD and members of the local community.

Business/Property, News

Tralee Experiences Big Surge In Broadband Speeds

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Eircom 1000TRALEE will now be able to access even better high-speed broadband as part of €9 million investment by Eircom in the county’s broadband infrastructure.

Most of Tralee will now be able to access broadband speeds of up to 100 Mb/s through eircom’s Open Access Network (click to enlarge map to find out if your area is upgraded).

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Over 12,000 homes and businesses in Tralee (including Mounthawk and Killerisk) are now live on the network after 73 kms of new fibre was installed to connect 60 cabinets.

Speeds of 100Mb/s will mean that a song can be downloaded in 1/3 of a second, a full album in just eight seconds while a feature length HD movie will take just 2 minutes to download.

It’s part of a roll-out of the service around the county which includes Caherciveen, Castleisland, Kenmare, Killarney (including Ballyspillane), Killorglin, Listowel, Muckross.

The areas will join other areas from all across Ireland that have been upgraded to the high-speed system. It means that areas may realistically surpass speeds that would be generally available in a host of capital cities in Europe.

In addition to the investment so far, there is further upgrading planned for Kerry. The company is hoping to deploy more high-speed broadband to areas in Tralee and Killarney by mid-2016.

Any further information that anyone may need on the rollout of high-speed broadband services in Kerry can be found on the website here.

“eircom is currently engaged in a €9 million network upgrade in County Kerry and in the past two years alone we have completed two thirds of our work programme,” said Carolan Lennon, Managing Director eircom Wholesale. “Between now and mid-2016 we will invest a further €3 million in upgrading an additional 22 communities in Kerry serving over 13,500 more premises.”

Business/Property, News

Tralee Included In New Superfast Broadband Plan

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Deputy Arthur Spring welcomed the news that Tralee and Killarney will be included in the first phase of the new super fast broadband venture by Vodafone and the ESB.

TRALEE and Killarney have been included in a venture to bring a 100 per cent fibre to the building broadband network offering speeds from 200 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.

The ESB and Vodafone have signed the innovative joint venture agreement to invest €450 million in building the network  and that the two Kerry towns, Killarney and Tralee are included in first phase of the roll out.

Following a competitive tender process, Vodafone was selected as ESB’s joint venture partner.

“This is major step in the right direction as Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to use the national overhead and underground electricity infrastructure to deploy fibre directly into homes and businesses allowing 500,000 premises in 50 towns to avail of the service,” said Deputy Arthur Spring, welcoming the announcement on Wednesday.

“Recent data from ComReg, the Irish telecoms regulator, showed that 43% of fixed broadband customers in Ireland receive speeds of less than 10 Mbps. This new joint venture will provide access to 100% fibre broadband of up to one gigabit per second allowing SME’s and remote workers to benefit,” said Deputy Spring.

The joint venture, which is subject to EU Commission approval, will be provide a faster broadband experience to the first customers in 2015 and the first phase of the project is expected to completed by 2018.

Open access is to be offered to all broadband providers on a wholesale basis allowing customers of those companies avail of the high speed broadband service.