We are used to having a good internet with speeds exceeding our needs for streaming, gaming, browsing and generally doing whatever we really want. Big commercial ISPs provide us with what we want at quite a low price point. At least if we live in urban areas. When Covid came, many of us moved out of the crowded cities to have more space and a mindset of leisure. The move comes at a price though. Price of not having what we want at the moment we want it. The nearest shop may be a half an hour drive or maybe it’s a small convenience store not having what we used to have. And broadband, that’s another story altogether.
Living rural – why is my broadband so slow?
Living rural means dealing with limited capacity to get proper high speed rural broadband. In a city we not only have a choice between broadband providers but we can also be picky when it comes to technology. Rural areas are different. Depending on where we decided to live we may not have a choice at all. We may not be able to compare different offers from multiple providers. We may be limited with technologies. And we are not talking about underdeveloped countries. Even countries like Ireland are so behind with fibre rollouts that in some areas, like in county Monaghan in the north of the Republic of Ireland, nearly half of the households lack high speed internet.
The governments are trying to devise smart plans to bring fast connectivity to the countryside. In Ireland it’s National Broadband Plan initiative. In the UK 95% of premises have access to high speed internet but it also means there is another 5% without it. Only 46% of premises have access to gigabit broadband. Ireland is even worse.
The problem with government plans is that they take so long to develop that when we see first results technology is already outdated. The National Broadband Plan in Ireland is not only delayed, it is also based on fibre access that requires costly infrastructure that takes time to deploy. That means that while the government is announcing successes in some areas most of those waiting will wait forever.
Wireless technologies to the rescue
So, is there a solution? Surprisingly there might be. Wireless connectivity. For years fixed line infrastructure was being supported by wireless, mostly 4G, broadband. 4G was relatively cheap but due to technological limitation could not replace fibre. Then 5G came and we now have something that can compete with not only FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) but also full fibre. 5G broadband currently offers speeds of up to 500Mbps and in some countries becomes a viable replacement to traditional infrastructure. Nearly 80% of Irish citizens currently live in 5G enabled areas and new 5G towers are built as we speak.
Strangely enough, 5G doesn’t seem to be too popular. In comparison with 4G technology 5G rollout is not being announced and often comes as a surprise. Many people have reservations coming from bad press 5G was getting in the past years. Often when customers find out they have access to 5G their initial answer is no, I don’t want it. They think it’s unsafe, dangerous. What a surprise when they find out they are covered for months or even years now!
5G technology offers a real competitive edge when it comes to rural areas and we need the governments to take steps to educate people of the benefits this technology can bring them. Obviously, it will come at a cost, cost to the big fat cats, commercial ISPs building fibre infrastructure. They will be the ones losing when their costly fibre optics will become too expensive or even obsolete. But this is what we need to do to get broadband to the countryside.
