The broadband service that works if you can see the sky

THE Government would have you believe that broadband coverage in the country is almost complete, through a deal with mobile phone operators which, they claim, addressed the issue in the National Broadband Scheme (NBS).

Far from it — the offering through 3G networks is only a ‘mid-band’ offering at best and, according to research carried out by the Irish Rural Link organisation, there were still at least 25,000 homes unable to obtain a reliable and affordable broadband service.

However, that all changed with the launch of the KA satellite at the end of 2010, and the introduction of lower hardware installation costs from a number of companies in Ireland.