Government criticised for 'shambolic' rural broadband rollout

There has been further criticism of the Government's decision not to extend the National Broadband scheme.

The State-funded programme, used by around 45,000 households and businesses in rural areas, is ending this month.

The company which runs the rural broadband service, Three Ireland, says that it has been losing money on the service will impose price hikes of up to €180 a year, with a likely reduction in speeds.

The worst-affected areas will be Galway, Cork, Mayo, Kerry and parts of Clare, Donegal, Limerick and Tipperary.

South Tipperary Independent TD Mattie McGrath says rural Ireland is being left behind when it comes to broadband.

"Well, it's shambolic, to be honest," he said.

"Here we are now, at the end of this national rollout, it hasn't been rolled out, and it's going to cost people who can avail of it much more."

Dave McDonald, CEO of Nova Broadband, which specialises in rural broadband in Cork and Limerick, said Ireland continues to suffer a "digital divide".

"The economics of providing broadband in low-density rural areas are completely different to high density urban areas and the market reflects this," he said.

"Rural users often have to put up with 3G dongles as their main household internet supply, leading to low speeds in the region of 1Mb dropouts and very inconsistent service.

"Their urban counterparts can receive speeds of 100Mb or more.

"In some rural areas fixed wireless providers can give between 2Mb and 20Mb, but availability can be patchy.

"In the short term, we see further rollout of quality fixed wireless as the way forward so that rural users can access services like Netflix, Sky On Demand and teleworking just like urban users can."