First farm businesss connected under the National Broadband Plan

Tom Canning on his farm in Cavan.

Ciaran Moran Twitter Email

April 01 2021 03:23 PM

The first farm business has been successfully connected under the National Broadband Plan, it has been announced.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the new, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network on behalf of the Government said

Agricultural consultant Tom Canning, located in Crossdoney, Co Cavan, is the first farm business to be connected.

Under the National Broadband Plan, over 544,000 premises nationwide are included in the "intervention area", which was established by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to identify areas where commercial operators are not currently providing access to high-speed broadband or do not intend to.

The project sees NBI delivering minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to farms, homes, businesses and schools.

As the president of the Agricultural Consultants Association (ACA) and managing director of Canning Consultants, a farm consultancy business, Mr Canning says he “expects to benefit hugely from a high-speed fibre connection”.

"We are delighted to be the first farm business to be connected under the National Broadband Plan.

"The need for the farming community to be connected to a high-speed network is vital as administration and the day-to-day running of a farm has moved online.

"For the purpose of my farm consultancy business, I also need a reliable network connection so I can effectively operate business from a rural base and I am already seeing the benefits from this connection. From speaking with others in the farming community, the NBP will benefit them hugely.”

National Broadband Ireland said a reliable, high-speed broadband connection "has never been so important" for Ireland’s farming community, as the agricultural sector has experienced an accelerated adoption of technological advances in recent years.

"Not only are essential business operations increasingly moving online, but farmers are utilising new technologies such as smart-farming devices to maximise production and realise significant efficiencies.

"The Covid-19 pandemic also gave rise to the growing trend of virtual mart auctions, allowing farmers to trade livestock effectively online.

"As an industry with a heritage of innovation, farmers have embraced the benefits of technology to achieve cost savings, reduce administration and access information in order to improve livestock management; all making reliable, high-speed broadband essential to their future success," a spokesperson stated.

Farmers, along with residents and businesses will be able to order their connections through a number of retail service providers (RSPs) who will offer services over the network.

As a wholesale provider, NBI has said it will make the new Fibre-to-the-Home network available to all RSPs operating in the intervention area.

Some 42 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI network and 17 are certified as ready to start providing connections as of today.

Environment, Climate and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said: "Today marks another major milestone in the rollout of the National Broadband Plan as we see one of the first farms connected.

"Reliable access to high speed broadband will help farmers as they use agricultural technology to maximise efficiencies, diversify into more sustainable forms of farming, produce energy and run their day-to-day business operations."