Poor broadband is hitting east Mayo firms hard
A RURAL oasis of employment in east Mayo is being described as ‘a communications desert’ because of a woefully inadequate broadband service.
The area in question is Aghamore, near Ballyhaunis, where three companies - Cashel Engineering, Major Equipmemnt and Agrispread - employ in total over 100 staff. All three firms export their products worldwide and are regarded as major players in the Irish agri-sector.
Simon Cunnane, production manager of Cashel Engineering, complained at the weekend that he frequently has to bring files to his home in Collooney, Co. Sligo, 35 miles away, at night in order to despatch marketing and other material worldwide from there.
Explained Mr. Cunnane: “Sending out basic marketing material from head office to our clients and potential clients across the world is a real headache. It can take hours at the moment.”
Cashel Engineering is an international exporter of agricultural and construction equipment. With 28 employees, it has been part of the industrial landscape in east Mayo since 1985.
Mr. Cunnane’s concerns about the inadequacy of the broadband service in the Aghamore/Tooreen area have been echoed by other frustrated employers in the area.
Bosses at both Major Equipment and Agrispread (Coolnaha, Ballyhaunis) told The Connaught Telegraph their operations are badly hampered by ‘snail-paced’broadband.
Mr. Cunnane outlined: “Our factory is equipped with state of the art machinery (lasers, robotics, etcetera) but our IT infrastructure lags behind due to poor quality broadband infrastructure in the area.
“Where 10mbs is now considered ‘basic’, our download speed is a mere 0.4mbs. Sending emails with attachments can literally take hours. Senior staff take work home with them as it’s not possible to complete it during normal hours.
“Market research is extremely difficult as internet browsing speeds are so slow. Where web pages, pictures, PDFs and video should load within seconds, with our connection it can take minutes or sometimes even crashes, meaning a restart is necessary even though our server and PCs are only three years old and working very well otherwise.”
Mr. Cunnane says switching broadband providers wouldn’t improve the situation. “The provider doesn’t matter,” he stated. “ We are currently with Three but have been with Vodafone, O2 (before the 3 takeover) and Eir, with the same results. The only difference is a euro or two on your monthly bill. Until the physical cabling is upgraded, we will not see any improvement.”
The government has a €500m National Broadband Plan to connect areas such as Aghamore to proper, modern internet lines but that’s not necessarily good news for those clamouring for a better service - the project has been delayed and won’t be completed until 2022 at the earliest.
Mr. Cunnane is adamant: “The powers that be need to install a new fibre optic cable to Aghamore immediately as a matter of urgency. The broadband service locally unfortunately is a joke at the moment.”