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A SCHEME SET up to bring broadband to rural areas is set to finish towards the end of this month – and customers could find themselves paying more for less monthly data.
National Broadband Scheme
The government awarded mobile phone company Three the contract to provide broadband to the areas under the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) for rural areas in December 2008.
The National Broadband Scheme cost €223m to implement, and the government contributed €79.8m to the cost of the project, said Three.
The NBS roll-out was completed by October 2010.
Approximately 234,000 residential, commercial and business premises receive broadband connectivity under the NBS, Three said, in 1.028 electoral divisions throughout the country.
Under the NBS, Three offered a minimum download speed of 2.3bps, and a minimum upload speed of 1.4Mbps.
A data cap of 40GB per month and a satellite data cap of 11GB per month stood.
It was €20.32 per month for the 40GB data allowance, with satellite charged €20.32 and 11GB per month.
Galway (111), Kerry (85), Cork (96) and Mayo (112) have the most customers per county affected by the NBS change.
New plans
Three said that when the NBS contract expires, the broadband plan will change to Three’s Broadband Active plan.
This is a rolling plan with 15GB of data allowance.
Alternatively, customers can sign up for the Pro account, which offers 60GB for €34.99:
Three also said :
Minimum speeds will no longer be guaranteed under your new plan, but there’s no need to worry, you shouldn’t experience any change to your service. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) between Three and you under the NBS Scheme including minimum service standards, orders and installation standards, fault restoration times, engineer visits and service rebates no longer apply, but rest assured that we’ll always work to resolve any issue you have as quickly as possible.
One customer told TheJournal.ie she felt that “in real terms they want us to pay more money for less service and less data allowance”.
Along with that no one in my area can receive a service from a line based operator such as Telecom Eireann because all of our lines are shared. You need one line to your property to avail of line based broadband…
She said there are no locally based services to avail of either.
She said she feels that customers have been “left high and dry” by the Minister of Communications, with “[nothing] in place to ensure our broadband is operational”.
In April, the then Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD, announced that the Government has committed to a major telecommunications network build-out to rural Ireland, with fibre as a cornerstone of its investment under the National Broadband Plan.
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I won’t be voting for any of those parties.
You’ll be glad to know that FG are topping the opinion polls.
@9QRixo8H: The real poll will take place tomorrow.
@Gavan Hogan:
Unfortunately Gavan, he might be right.
Although I personally think SF will shade it nationally
@Gavan Hogan: cool, I will.
Not one mention of crime. Antisocial behaviour is absolutely rampant in inner city Dublin. Drug dealing is quite literally on every street corner in Dublin 1. Kids on scramblers rallying up and down through traffic on bikes they’ve either robbed or bought with the proceeds of crime. Ffs the only party I see mention antisocial behaviour is those absolute loons in the national party. Why do I have to look to the far right ethnonationalists before I find a party that takes crime seriously? Can anybody recommend local councillors in the inner city that focus on crime reduction? Advocates for more prisons or reopening old ones? The soft touch approach has clearly failed for all to see.
Oh wait, more fool me, just saw the paragraph where labour wants “wardens” handing out fines for antisocial beheviour. I’m sure that’ll stop it! LOL. How many fines were paid to councils for things like dog poop in the past 4 years? A quick Google search shows 1 (yes, one in 4 years). Why do they think fining people for this will help?
@Sean Stevenson: but, how many were faced to clean up.before been fined?
@Sean Stevenson: very well said and so true.
We all know how much a promise from a politician is worth. Why not check the promises they made previously and how they’ve lived up to them. Or not.
More false promises that mean nothing to the people of Ireland
Blowing up a school now Israel…what happened…miss the orphanage? Ah well not to worry, plenty time for that!
@Ulysses 31: Ah bless…have I got to the racist thicko…good.
@damien leen: Maybe if Hamas stops building tunnels and hiding flammable ammo under schools and kids bedrooms. It’s either Israel blowing it up or Hamas firing those rockets at Israel ( good thing there’s the Iron dome) – I know what I would do.
Politics seem to attract poor specimens of society, ie, accomplished sleight-of-hand artists and polished liars. It’s best to vote them out regularly and not leave them too long in government!
FF was the largest party since 2019 local election, will they continue to be the largest after tomorrow or will people vote change? #VoteTomorrow.
Apathy and cynicism will be the ruin of us all.
None of them mention ensuring economic growth or how much extra they will tax and misspend??
@Eric: economic growth is not something county councils are exceptionally renowned for. They should have more powers to attract investment though.
As for taxing… County councils only collect commercial rates I think? Happy to be corrected if I’m wrong
It’s great that they can get rid or lower taxes and yet increase services
Could probably have bundled most of the looney parties here into one doc to save time. That document could then more easily be put through a shredder and recycled into toilet paper or perhaps bedding for someone who maybe keeps rodents as a pet.
Lol! so a whole pile of nothing? not a road, bridge, train, etc. ‘empower local council’… to be against any national plans? It’s 2 steps back, if we’ve learned anything it’s that we cant solve the problems facing us, putting more people infront of these problems will make it even harder.
have your say