The exclusion of Thurles from SIRO’s rollout of one gigabit broadband has drawn the anger of several local councillors.
It’s already being rolled out in Clonmel and Nenagh with Roscrea also set to benefit in 2019.
According to SIRO officials, Thurles didn’t meet the criteria for approval of the phase one rollout.
SIRO have stated that eligible towns must have over 4,000 premises as well as being commercially viable for service providers.
Given that Thurles passed most of the criteria, local Independent Councillor Jim Ryan was very disappointed with SIRO’s response.
The fibre to the premises broadband sees ESB and Vodafone working together to bring high speed internet to 50 regional towns across Europe.
The rollout process is set to get underway in Roscrea next February and has already begun in Nenagh and Clonmel.
Roscrea Councillor Michael Smith welcomed the prospect of one gigabit broadband for his area but felt that rural areas surrounding the town were being left behind.
