Our broadband hopes and dreams dashed

OUTSIDE of the major centres of population, and their immediate surrounds, broadband has been far from the communication dream that we were led to expect.

Farmers are a significant target market for broadband, with more and more services to the farming sector, such as Department of Agriculture schemes, being operated on line, and farmers are encouraged to avail of this.

However, for the majority, land line dial-up connection is the best they can do — costly, slow, and ineffective for downloading or uploading any sizeable files on line.