Surveying works by National Broadband Ireland in several areas of Waterford are well underway. The company is investing €59m to develop a high speed fibre network in the county, as part of the Government’s National Broadband Plan to address the country’s digital divide.
In Waterford, there are 15,000 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and school. This equates to 24% of all premises in the county.
The first areas to be surveyed are Cheekpoint, Waterford City, Passage East, Kilmeaden, Dunmore East and Tramore. All NBI contractors will carry official ID and essential worker letters and have received training on adhering to all Covid19 guidelines. They will have vehicles, PPE and signage with both their own and NBI logos.
Joe Lavin, Chief Commercial Officer for NBI, spoke to Waterford City based councillors recently and expressed his hope that these areas in East Waterford will be connected by mid-year next year (2021).
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs)
Phase One of the NBP sees the delivery of BCPs nationwide. Over 60 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. Up to 300 of these will be available within the next six months. In Waterford, some BCPs include Knockanore, Kilbrien and Ballysaggart Community Centres.
These will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism. A full list can be found at https://nbi.ie/bcp-map/.
Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP and the first among these in Waterford are Faithlegg, Fenor, and Ballycurrane National Schools.
Progress on the ground
NBI chief executive Peter Hendrick said the company was pleased with the progress being made: “We started physical work on the ground in January and I am delighted to report that this is going very well. We are acutely aware that people want access to high speed broadband as soon as possible, and our goal is to deliver that.
“Survey designs are an important part of mapping out how every home and business will be connected, and these will provide the blueprint for how the NBI fibre is laid. The BCPs are a key milestone in delivering access to high speed internet in the Intervention Area, and we’re delighted to see these being connected for access – internally and externally - right across the county.”
