Cork County Council has confirmed that 24 Broadband Connection Points have been approved for County Cork, a development that North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea has said will provide people in rural areas with internet connectivity prior to the full roll-out of the National Broadband Plan.
“A contractual requirement of the National Broadband Plan, which has a construction programme of three to five years following progression to formal contracts, is that Broadband Connection Points are established at publicly accessible locations during the first year of the contract,” Cllr. O’Shea said.
“So, this means that people living in rural areas will be able to avail of internet connectivity at specific locations until such time as high-speed broadband will be available to their own premises. This relates to homes within the Amber intervention area of the National Broadband Plan. Close to 30% of County Cork is within the Amber intervention area, slightly higher than the national average.”
Some of the locations approved for Broadband Connection Points in and around North Cork include:
- Aghabullogue Community Centre
- Aubane Community Centre
- Ballydaly Community Hall
- Courtbrack Community Centre
- Glash Community Centre
- Laharn Community Centre
- T.O. park Community Hall
- Whitechurch Community Centre
“The delays with the National Broadband Scheme have been well-documented with a construction programme of three to five years, it is important that there is something like Broadband Connection Points to cater to people’s needs in the interim period while the Scheme is being rolled out,” added Cllr. O’Shea.
