National Implementation Plan – Roll Out by Month Map
The UK government is to invest £150 million to improve broadband and mobile phone coverage in areas currently considered ‘not spots’ due to their poor connectivity.
But while the news is to be welcomed there was also some concern that Fermanagh has once again been put ‘ at the back of the queue’ and will be one of the last areas to benefit from this investment.
The mobile infrastructure project – or MIP – is seeing central government invest £150m into bringing mobile connectivity to the areas currently without signal. The plan is to be rolled out in five phases with Fermanagh placed in phase four.
Indeed in Northern Ireland Fermanagh will be the last area to benefit despite arguably having the most need.
Sinn Feinn councillor, Sheamus Greene was ‘disappointed but not surprised’ with the news.
“We are always at the back of the queue and trailing behind when it comes to investment. We heard a lot about what the G8 would bring but if the phone signal and broadband, which is worse since the G8 was here, is anything to go by I would doubt it will bring a lot.”
Mr Greene represents people who live in the Coonian area and he reported that ‘there is terrible broadband here and most people cannot get it all.’
And one person who can attest to the poor coverage in that area is Stephen Jackson who’s parents in law live in Coonian.
“As soon as you drive into their area everything just becomes defunct; iPhone, iPad internet, mobile. Everything,”
Mr Jackson’s parents in law, Jimmy and Nellie Boyle, have to drive to Tempo to their son in law and daughters Edel house to get any access to the internet.
“It is simple things that we take for granted like booking flights or using skype or getting pictures of the grandkids that they just can’t do,” Stephen explained.
Jimmy and Nellie have grandchildren in the USA and in Birmingham in the UK and Stephen believes that having access to broadband would make a big difference to them;
“They come to our house if they need something but if they had it themselves they would get so much more out of it. In a way when you never have something you don’t know to the full extent what you are missing but it would make a big difference to their lives if they could get good broadband.”
There are plenty of other areas in Fermanagh that have poor broadband connectivity including Boho, Mulleek and the Knocks among others. The hope is that this £150 million investment will bring about some improvement but the reality is that Fermanagh will have to get to the back of the queue as other parts of Northern Ireland get connected first.
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