SERVICES
High Speed Broadband installed in Tullycorbet Hall under Connected Communities.
Tullycorbet Parish Hall has become the latest Broadband Connection Points to go live within Co. Monaghan under the Connected Communities Initiative, delivering internal and external wifi in the community hall and the neighbouring car park up to 150 Mb/sec. It was a momentous week in the Tullycorbet area, with NBI crews out on the ground completing tree trimming and preparatory work in advance of high speed fibre rollout during the summer. This is truly a community BCP, with local landowner Seamus Treanor facilitating this project by allowing his property to be used as an intermediate site to bounce the broadband signal down to the community centre.
The Connected Communities initiative delivers high speed broadband wirelessly to local community facilities in advance of the full rollout of fibre to every home and business in the area which does not have access to high speed broadband. More than 3,700 premises are expected to get new high speed fibre across Co. Monaghan in the course of 2021, representing almost 23% of the 15,000 premises to be covered.
The rollout of BCPs will continue in the coming months with five additional BCPs set to be connected in the course of 2021. This rollout is being coordinated by the Monaghan County Council’s Broadband Officer on behalf of the Government of Ireland.
The Government of Ireland is also assisting many of these BCPs through the Town and Village Renewal scheme. A number of BCPs have had additional IT equipment and Video conferencing facilities installed in recent months, funded by Dept. of Rural and Community Development under Town and Village Renewal and by Monaghan Co. Co. Municipal Districts.
The full list of BCPs which are now up and running and which have external wifi available is:
- Carn Resource Centre
- Connons Community Centre
- Corcaghan Community Centre
- Corduff-Raferagh Community Centre
- Latton Resource Centre
- Monaghan GAA Centre of Excellence
- Mullyash Commnuity Centre
- The Wetlands, Ballybay
- Tannagh Outdoor Education Centre
- Tullycorbet Parish Hall
Connected Communities is an initiative of the Government of Ireland, in partnership with Vodafone and National Broadband Ireland.
Commenting on the initiative, Heather Humphreys T.D., Minister for Rural and Community Development said “I want to congratulate Monaghan on the launch of their BCP network as part of the Connected Communities Initiative.
Connected Communities will unlock the potential in rural communities, transforming the lives of its residents.
Whether that is connected working, the creative arts, eHealth or educational supports, the BCPs will be supported to provide the services that their communities need.
These premises are not merely a stop-gap measure ahead of the arrival of the National Broadband Plan, it is our hope that they will instead become long-term community assets, fixtures of their communities, providing next generation services to Ireland’s rural heartlands.”
Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer at National Broadband Ireland, commented: “NBI is proud to be empowering the Broadband Connection Points programme by installing community facilities with essential access to free high-speed internet access. As our teams continue to make progress with our Fibre-to-the-Home rollout to bring high-speed broadband to every home, farm, business and school in the Intervention Area, Broadband Connection Points pave the way for the wider rollout of the National Broadband Plan.”
Anne O’Leary, CEO Vodafone Ireland said: “Vodafone is proud to partner with Government on Connected Communities, providing best in class WiFi to rural communities across Ireland. Today, we are delighted to see the launch of Monaghan Connected Communities, bringing high-speed connectivity across the county. Technology and connectivity has afforded us a sense of normality in truly abnormal times and has supported the dramatic and necessary shift to online in terms of how we live, work and interact. These Connected Communities will help Monaghan embrace this digital society by giving opportunities for remote work, study, community and digital skills training and a host of other digitally enabled services. As they evolve and grow, Connected Communities will provide an opportunity to transform the economic and social fabric of rural towns and communities by addressing the digital divide, improving lives, creating jobs and stimulating rural economic growth”.