Broadband blackspots set to be tackled

Broadband blackspots in Westmeath are set to be tackled in the coming weeks as Imagine has just announced that it is rolling out a new national LTE fibre network.

Local townlands being covered include Bonavalley, Ladywell, Bealnamulla, Garrynagowna, Creggan West, Oldtown, Fardrum and Ballydonagh.

In a statement this week, Imagine said: “Up to now getting high speed broadband, using the existing phone lines to connect to fibre, was dependent on the planned upgrade of the eir network and local exchange to fibre. But even then this is limited to homes and businesses close to the network or the local exchange. In regional and rural areas this has left thousands of homes and businesses unsure when and if they will be able to get connected. These homes can now check the initial coverage at imagine.ie.”

Instead of having to use the copper network to connect homes to fibre enabled exchanges Imagine is using the very latest next generation wireless technology ‘Advanced LTE’ to connect homes and businesses directly to the nearest fibre point on their network. This means that the service is not limited to areas close to an exchange and can be provided to anyone within a coverage area of up to 13Km.

While the minimum speed that Imagine will connect you at is 30MB and depending on your location can be up to 100MB existing LTE customers in Kildare and Cork where the service was deployed in the last few months are getting on average 65Mb download and 6MB upload.

To ensure that every customer gets the service they expect each area is connected on a phased basis with the number of users restricted to 400 homes in each phase. So if you need or want high speed broadband you need to register your interest.

Speaking of the announcement Brian O’Donohoe, Commercial Director of Imagine said: “LTE is a game changer in delivering high speed broadband service to regional and rural Ireland. In Australia, Germany, France, China and Japan LTE is used as an alternative or to replace existing copper lines to deliver
NGA broadband services and is the quickest and most efficient way to meet the demand and need in rural and regional Ireland.”

“The feedback from our prelaunch in Kildare and Cork is that this is life changing for families, businesses and rural communities. We are excited about bringing these benefits to rural communities in Westmeath.”