A community group in Kilkenny has made history after building its own broadband network.
The voluntary Broadband 4 Our Community (B4OC) group's 150 megabytes plus network has been installed in Piltown and Fiddown on the Kilkenny, Waterford and Tipperary border.
Volunteers quite literally got down into the trenches and built their own fiber-to-the-premises broadband network.
750 homes and businesses in the area now have, or will soon have, access to the high-speed network.
Speaking to Beat News, project manager Jim O'Brien outlines how they got the project off the ground:
Inspired by similar projects in the UK, B4OC believes access to reliable high-speed broadband is essential to attracting SMEs.
The community gains not only by having access to faster broadband for families but also for local schools and other community buildings.
The project has received significant loan capital from local businesses as well as attracting a match-funding contribution from the philanthropic trust.
Declan Rice, Kilkenny LEADER Partnership CEO says:
“Community development and ownership of future-proofed ‘fiber to the premise’ (FTTP) networks should be as familiar as local ‘group water schemes, of which there are many hundreds. Installing FTTP networks is not rocket science, in many ways, it’s easier than a group water scheme to install."
“Piltown- Fiddown doesn’t have to be the exception, it should just be the pioneer.”
