Major provider apologises for very poor broadband speeds in parts of Tullamore

THREE Ireland has apologised for the poor mobile broadband speeds in parts of Tullamore, making it almost impossible for some people to work from home.

''At times over the past three to four weeks the download and upload speeds have been less than 1mb per second,'' said one customer living in the Park Avenue area.

''Three Support stated that I should expect speeds of 200mb or more over 5G. Needless to say it's never come close to this. Loading emails, especially attachments can take a long time when the internet is at its slowest. It's making it almost impossible to work from home and I have no other option.

''I am also now in a situation where I have to download films from Netflix or indeed YouTube before I can watch them in comfort. If I just go straight to Netflix it's sure to break down in the middle of the film. I have started and restarted the router numerous times, all to no avail. It's crawling and very frustrating. What am I paying for?

'' I rang Three support over two weeks ago and I was supposed to be contacted with an update. This never happened. I'm less than 700m from the nearest 5G Mast, according to ComReg (Commission for Communications Regulation ). It's extremely difficult to work from home when the internet is this poor,'' said the customer who wishes to remain anonymous.

A statement from the provider said: “Three Ireland apologises for any inconvenience caused to the affected customers in the Park Avenue area. Three will be carrying out upgrade works in the area in the coming months which will improve both 4G and 5G coverage to customers. Three is committed to transforming connectivity capabilities for consumers and businesses in Co. Offaly, as part of its wider nationwide investment.”

However, this does not explain why Three have not contacted this particular customer who says he is less than impressed with the response.

''What do they expect customers to do in the meantime? Do I get a discount while I am waiting for them to upgrade, or how do they suggest I work from home?'' asks the customer.