17 December 2024
By Roger Kennedy
roger@TheCork.ie
For years now, Ireland’s National Broadband Scheme has been spreading across the nation. As it goes, it has been delivering better quality internet to rural areas, so they don’t fall behind Ireland’s urban centres. In 2025, three of Cork’s even more isolated communities will get the same treatment.
Source: Unsplash
The National Broadband Scheme
Spearheaded by National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the National Broadband Scheme is a long-running initiative established by Granahan McCourt Capital. By working with the government and Ireland’s biggest telecom companies, they have plans to cover 96% of Ireland’s land mass and supply more than 500,000 rural properties with high-quality internet.
As for why it’s happening – most modern countries are working to bring more people online, and Ireland is no different. We use online tools in our everyday lives, so a poor internet connection can lock users out of valuable sources for communication, research and entertainment. This is a concern when Ireland is home to a growing digital economy that spans a lot of big-name tech companies, plus homegrown iGaming giants. For example, Irish citizens can play bingo at Paddy Power, using the internet to access digital versions of bingo, slots and other casino games. It’s just one of the many experiences available for those who have a stable internet connection. Today, most Irish people can access a simple bingo game with their internet, but some communities could get left behind if digital services become more sophisticated in the future.
The Three Cork Islands Getting Better Internet
At its core, the NBI is focused on tackling what has been called the digital divide. Since infrastructure is centred around a nation’s urban regions, cities and towns tend to have much better internet than the surrounding countryside. You can learn more about the digital divide from Internet Society.
However, Ireland’s fractured coasts are home to more than the countryside. There are also islands that suffer from the same internet connectivity woes. That’s why the NBI is aiming to help three County Cork islands in 2025.
Bere Island
As far back as late 2023, surveying work started for Bere Island off the Beara Peninsula. Though it’s home to just 200+ people, the NBI doesn’t plan to leave anyone behind in its quest for complete, high-quality internet coverage across Ireland. That’s why, across Ireland, more than ten islands use internet powered by the NBI.
For this island, the NBI are aiming to reach at least 500 Mbps internet speeds, allocated to approximately 250 premises. Implementation of the necessary infrastructure has been ongoing throughout 2024, with a view to bring islanders online in winter of 2025.
Sherkin & Cape Clear Island
Like Bere Island, a combined 200+ people live on Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island. Together, these two islands represent some of Ireland’s southernmost fringes. Cape Clear, specifically, is further south than the Mizen Head.
Source: Unsplash
Internet troubles aren’t new for the residents of these islands. In 2022, Cape Clear residents made headlines in The Independent for a community-led effort to secure internet connectivity for the whole island. Before the effort, it was tradition to leave home and travel to a part of the island where calls and internet services worked. Thanks to Vantage Towers, this island (and their neighbours at Sherkin) got the necessary infrastructure put in place. There’s no doubt that the NBI will build off of that infrastructure to provide faster internet speeds.
According to the NBI, these islands will go online in the spring of 2025. With Bere Island, and the NBI’s completed projects, that will make for seven County Cork islands that have received this significant internet upgrade.