Broadband rolled out to Laois area with plush hotel 'essential'

High-speed broadband is now available for many homes and businesses in Ballyfin and Rosenallis according to local Fine Gael councillor, Conor Bergin.

Cllr Bergin said he has been in close contact with National Broadband Ireland since 2021 after a number of people in the Ballyfin and Rosenallis areas expressed their frustration to me with poor broadband connections.

"I have been in contact with National Broadband Ireland recently on this issue and I am pleased to have received an update that up to 85% of homes, businesses and farms in Ballyfin and Rosenallis which were included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan now should be able to access high-speed broadband.

"There are a total of 187 properties in Ballyfin that are included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan.145 of these are available for service now.  A further 39 are still in Network Build and three properties that were added to the programme in the area after it commenced will require to have Engineering Surveys completed to determine how soon they can be brought onto the network. There are 40 active connections in this area, and a further 10 pre-orders on the system," he said.

Ballyfin, which is located between Portlaoise and Mountrath, is home to the five star country house hotel Ballyfin Demense.

Meanwhile, Cllr Bergin also provided an update on a community in the Slieve Bloom that has also been connected.

"There are a total of 102 properties in Rosenallis that are included in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan. 101 of these are available for service now.  There are 37 active connections in this area, a further 5 connections pending, and a further 5 pre-orders on the system," he said.

Cllr Bergin said the NBI network is a Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network, a highly reliable technology using fibre-optic cables capable of delivering speeds up to 10Gb. The NBI network is providing speeds of up to 2Gb for business and residential users, with a minimum baseline speed of 500Mb.

“Rural broadband is essential for areas like Ballyfin and Rosenallis, At present, there is at least one person or more in many households working from home or studying. I believe that remote working has opened up huge possibilities for rural areas, allowing more and more people to work locally in Co Laois. However, working from home is only possible with an adequate broadband connection and many people are frustrated at present and finding it difficult to work from home," he said. 

To make sure people are kept informed of the rollout and progress specific to their Eircode, Cllr Bergin urged people and businesses to register for updates at www.nbi.ie/eoi