County Roscommon has the third slowest broadband speed in the country according to new data which was released this week.
The data demonstrates that parts of the country experience broadband speeds up to 36 times slower than others and reveals the country’s broadband hot and not spots.
The slowest broadband area is Legan in Longford with an average download speed of 1.98Mbps, while the fastest area is Drimnagh in Dublin 12, with an average of 72.15Mbps.
Speed test data collected by Switcher.ie, the independent price comparison website and switching service, shows that broadband speeds vary hugely across the Republic of Ireland, and some areas are being left languishing with speeds up to 36 times slower than those in the fastest parts of the country.
In terms of county-by-county results, unsurprisingly Dublin has the highest average speed, followed by Waterford, Kildare, Meath and Westmeath.
The county with the slowest average speed is Longford, with Leitrim, Roscommon, Monaghan and Mayo making up the bottom five.
The National Broadband Plan sets out that, at a minimum, broadband with speeds of 30Mbps should be available to all.
Commenting on the findings, Eoin Clarke, Managing Director of Switcher.ie, said: “The results from the speed test data highlight the digital divide in Ireland. We’re seeing lightning speeds in certain areas, largely where there has already been investment made in fibre to the home networks. However, in many areas we are still a long way off these kinds of speeds and slow broadband is a frustration that thousands of people in these places have to deal with every day.”
Fitzmaurice: ‘I’ll raise it with Naughten
His constituency colleagues have turned the heat on Minister Denis Naughten following this week’s report on broadband in Roscommon.
Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice said that it comes as no surprise that Roscommon and Mayo are in the bottom five counties in the country with regard to broadband speeds.
“To hear that this problem might be solved in the next five to six years is not good enough. The reality of life now is that a proper broadband service is no longer a luxury; it is essential to carry out any kind of business or work.
“Businesses are very reluctant to set up in rural areas with slow broadband speeds and who would blame them?
“Rural people just want to be treated the same as those in Dublin and on the East Coast and to tell people that they may have a good broadband service by 2023 is just not good enough. It has to happen faster and I will be raising this issue this week with Minister Naughten,” he concluded.
Fianna Fáil TD Eugene Murphy said it’s “simply not acceptable that homes and businesses in Roscommon are only receiving average broadband speeds of 9 Mbps.”
Deputy Murphy said that the speeds being made available to communities in Roscommon fall significantly short of the commitments made by the current Government that a minimum speed of 30 Mbps would be achieved across the country.
He called on Minister Denis Naughten to outline what measures he will take to speed up the roll out of the National Broadband Plan, and whether he will commit to increasing the standards as set by the European Commission.
