Laois council reveals timeframes for first four broadband exchange hubs for Laois

Work is underway on the initial broadband hubs to serve Laois under the National Broadband Plan county but it will be the second half of 2022 before the biggest of these is operational.

Laois County Councillors were told this week that the county is to be served by 12 broadband exchange hubs under the plan which will be rolled out around Ireland over the next seven years.

Director of Services Joe Delaney identified the initial four locations earmarked as the hubs that would serve Laois at the October meeting where councillors were discussing a first Digital Strategy for Laois.

He said initial work on the hubs would involve the completion of surveys. Once complete, he said the hubs will be built over the next two years 2021/22.

Graiguecullen nearby areas of southeast Laois will be served from a hub in Carlow. The scheduled completion is the second half of 2021.

Communities in the southwest of the county near the Tipperary border would be served from a hub in Roscrea. It is set to be built by the second half of 2022. A hub in Johnstown in Co Kilkenny will serve areas such as Cullohill and maybe Durrow.

Meanwhile, a hub in Portlaoise will cover a substantial area in Laois. It is scheduled to be built by the second half of 2022.

Councillors were told officials in county hall are in contact with the NBP contractors as part of rolling out the high-speed hubs. Mr Delaney said the council will update councillors once locations and timeframes for the remaining hubs to serve Laois are confirmed by the NBP and the relevant Government Department.

Laois County Council's head of Information Technology, Pat Grassick said the hubs would take in areas within a 20 km boundary that do not stop at county boundaries.

The details about the rollout were outlined at a meeting where Ms Angela McEvoy outlined the contents of the Draft Digital Strategy for Laois. She said broadband access was one of the key issues identified during the consultation that led to the plan.

Many councillors called for the process to be accelerated and also wanted definitive timeframes as to when the broadband would be rolled out to each area. There were also calls for the NBP to be accelerated.

Cllr Conor Bergin said that in the context of Covid-19 many more people are working from home and need access to broadband for work. He said surveys had shown that 11,000 people were recorded as working outside Laois prior to the pandemic.

Cllr Aisling Moran questioned why the scheme could not be accelerated and completed within five years.

Concluding the discussion, Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said broadband access was one of the biggest issues raised in rural areas during the local election campaign.

Councillors adopted the draft strategy.