Cork company partners to connect rural counties

A Cork IT company has come to the rescue of 3,000 homes in rural counties by providing high-speed broadband, as the Government comes under fire from opposition politicians for failing to connect the regions with its broadband policy.

Cork tech firm Azotel has teamed up with wireless internet service provider Eurona Ireland to provide high-speed wireless broadband connectivity for residents in Longford, Cavan, Roscommon, and Leitrim.

The connection comes as the Government ploughs ahead with the National Broadband Plan, a policy which aims to deliver high-speed broadband to every citizen and business in Ireland. It aims to achieve 100% coverage in three to five years of the start of large-scale rollout.

The Government has said it will achieve its targets through private commercial investment, with the State’s intervention making up the shortfall. Three bidders — Eir, Siro, and Enet — entered the tendering process to be granted the contract to roll out the programme. A decision is expected this year.

Azotel chief executive John O’Hare said the partnership between his company and Eurona Ireland means remote areas in connectivity-poor companies are no longer cut off.

“Service providers can now rapidly deploy cost-effective, next-generation broadband services to remote rural areas,” he said.

It comes as Fianna Fáil TD Michael Moynihan accused the Government of failing rural Ireland when it came to connectivity.

“In April 2015, then-minister Alex White claimed that the construction of a universal broadband network would commence in 2016 and be completed by 2021 at the very latest. It’s now mid-2017, and the contract for the National Broadband Plan has not even been awarded yet. This is absolutely appalling. High-speed broadband is not a luxury — it is a necessity for everyday life.”