Welcome for new era in broadband for Mayo

Cllr Keith Martin has welcomed the plan from the Communications Minister, Mr Pat Rabbitte, T.D., to deliver faster broadband for the whole Country as part of National broadband plan for Ireland.

According to Cllr Martin "The investment in a faster and better broadband infrastructure and service for Ireland is great news for both the public and business people in Mayo. Ireland can no longer afford to fall behind the high broadband speeds being offered by other European Countries.

"This plan will not just focus on urban areas but also all rural parts of the Country. We are living in the digital age and so it is paramount that every online user in Mayo has access to high speed broadband. This plan guarantees rural dwellers minimum speeds of 20 to 40 Mps within 3 years. This is a huge increase on the 1 to 3 Mps currently available in rural areas in Mayo.

This plan will facilitate the provision of high speed broadband to every home and business in the State over the lifetime of the Government. The plan is focused on ensuring internet speeds for Irish consumers that are much faster than those currently available.

The Plan outlines measures to facilitate the delivery of broadband speeds of between 70 and 100 megabits per second (Mbps) on a commercial basis, to approximately 50% of the population. The Plan also announces the Government's intention to develop an intervention to deliver minimum speeds of between 30 and 40 Mbps to the other 50% of the population which would not be achieved on a commercial basis, thus ensuring that minimum levels of high speed broadband services are accessible to all. Implementation of this plan will see Ireland doing more than meeting the targets set down by the European Commission in the "Digital Plan for Europe".