The ISLAND community of Árainn Mhór was celebrating yesterday after a lengthy campaign to secure high speed broadband reached a significant milestone.
Árainn Mhór island and 11 other rural communities will have high speed broadband within months after striking up a deal with a Chinese broadband provider, Wuhan Vstar.
The technical trials will assess an innovative hybrid fibre and wireless system which is already in operation in Asia and Australia. Ireland will be the first country in Europe to see its introduction.
Árainn Mhór Island’s broadband working group member Séamus Ó Cnáimhsí of CFFAM:, “The potential benefits of the broadband trial are enormous - not just for Árainn Mhór or the other offshore islands, but for rural Ireland in general. We are looking forward to participating in this trial so we can demonstrate the benefits that high speed broadband will bring to a wide range of island services including jobs, healthcare, education and communications.”
The formal agreement between Wuhann Vstar and 12 LEADER companies across Ireland was signed on February 2nd.
The partnership will now facilitate pilot trials in their areas which will offer ‘next generation access’ (NGA) standard broadband coverage.
Chairman of Comharchumann Oileán Árainn Mhór Jerry Early: “The community are delighted at the announcement of a high speed broadband trial for the island. I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the broadband working group, the Diaspora and extended island community for supporting our efforts to bring high speed broadband to the island. Thanks too to the press and media for highlighting this important issue for our community.”
Following the successful outcome of trials the LEADER Companies and their Chinese partners propose to roll out a national network to serve other rural communities around the country.
Adrian Begley, chairman of the Árainn Mhór island Council added: “The news of the high-speed broadband trial for Arranmore Island is very welcome. The opportunity for the people of Arranmore to avail of such a service has been a long time coming and while we are aware that it will begin as a trial, we feel that it does bode well for the community. We hope the trial is a success for all parties involved and we look forward to building upon such success in the very near future."
The innovative project came about after the communities became concerned about possible delays to the state’s National Broadband Plan’s objective of providing high-speed broadband to all rural Ireland by 2020.
John Walsh, Chairman of the islands LEADER Company, Comhar na nOileán, summarises the position, “Ireland’s island and rural communities cannot afford, in either economic or social terms, to wait on existing operators or Government to address the broadband gap on our islands”.
The LEADER companies have been working closely with community working groups across all twelve pilot areas to ensure that the service meets their needs. Installation work on the physical network is expected to commence in the coming months and the system expected to go live by the middle of the year.
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