Just 11 premises in Clare have been surveyed for the rollout of the National Broadband Plan in the last 10 weeks.
This county now has the second lowest percentage of its eligible premises checked for the scheme of anywhere in the country.
National Broadband Ireland is required to check poles and cables in areas due to be served by the full rollout of the plan.
More than 22,500 premises in Clare – including homes, farms, businesses and schools – are to be incorporated in the plan, which has a life span of 5 to 7 years.
Just 15.7 percent of homes have been surveyed in this county so far, a figure that is only lower in Offaly.
Some counties, such as Carlow and Louth, have completed survey figures of more than 90 per cent.
Neighbouring counties of Galway, Limerick and Tipperary are all around the 40 per cent mark.
A previous Clare FM query in March established 3,556 premises had been examined here – that has only gone up by 11 in the 10 weeks that have followed, which is sure to spark concern here that the rollout of the plan in the Banner could be slower than in other areas of the country.
National Broadband Ireland say the works continue to progress here in areas in South East Clare that full under Limerick and Gort’s deployment areas, with surveys also underway for premises in Kilkishen.
NBI say COVID-19 has resulted in an ‘extremely unpredictable’ rollout environment which has created challenges for the project.
They do, despite the low survey figures in this county to date, say that no community – in Clare or elsewhere – will be ‘left behind’ as the project continues to be rolled out.
A county-by county breakdown of premises surveyed under the National Broadband Plan can be viewed here.
National Broadband Ireland Statement
“In Clare, there are 22,592 premises in the Intervention Area of the National Broadband Plan, which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools. This equates to 33% of all premises in the county. Under the National Broadband Plan, Clare will see an investment of €89M in the new high-speed fibre network. This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working.
In Clare, the network build is in progress to connect premises that fall under the Limerick and Gort deployment areas. Surveying works are also underway for premises in the Kilkishen deployment area.
NBI continues to operate in an extremely unpredictable COVID-19 environment which is creating some challenges for the survey and build elements of the project, and as a result, we are not currently able to publish deployment plans beyond the 24 month time horizon. However, we remain fully committed to deploying the infrastructure within the planned 7 years and ensuring that ensuring that no community, region or town in the intervention area is left behind.
As the country re-opens and restrictions are lifted, National Broadband Ireland is confident that this will further assist us as we continue to deliver the new high speed broadband network under the National Broadband Plan.
In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home roll out, the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points nationwide. 164 of these sites are now ‘live’ and have both internal and external broadband access. These facilities – which include GAA clubs, community centres and tourist sites – will provide free public access to high speed internet in the rollout area. There are seven Broadband Connection Points in Clare, four of which have already been connected.”
A county-by county breakdown of premises surveyed under the National Broadband Plan can be viewed here.
