Tuam . No MAN , No Hope

Sponge Bob

Tuam along with Castlebar get no MAN

Thats because the Dept of Comms trialled Powerline in Tuam and such was the promise of Powerline that Tuam was therefore not on the list of Fibre Towns.

Castlebar , the largest omission in the west , as we all know has one of the most advanced Fibre and Cable systems in Ireland or at least thats what Chorus told the Dept of Comms before they abandoned the 7 houses they were servicing in 2002 ( and after they pocketed €800k minimum for it)

The Tuam Herald is not amused .

Tuam left out of
Government’s
broadband list
once again

HOPES that Tuam would finally be served with
industrial grade broadband, a prerequisite for
attracting new job creation projects to the town,
have again been dashed with the news that Tuam
has not made it onto the list of 66 locations to benefit
from the Government funded Phase 2 MANs roll
out.

Tuam will now sit in a broadband desert surrounded
by communities such as Athenry,
Loughrea, Ballinasloe, Gort, Claremorris,
Ballinrobe and Clifden which are to be connected to
the Metropolitan Area Network (MANs) network.
Galway, Sligo, Roscommon and Ballina were among
the 27 locations connected in Phase 1.

Research has now been published which shows
locations connected to the MANs network have a
significant advantage over towns such as Tuam
when it comes to attracting new IDA backed industry
and foreign direct investment.

The Herald has learned that despite an intensive
lobbying campaign headed by former County Manager
Pat Gallagher, Tuam has again failed to make
the Department of Communications, Energy and
Natural Resources Phase 2 MANs list.
A perceived political bias against Tuam at Government
level since the election of Independent TD
Paddy McHugh in 2002 and the absence of an active
lobby representing the area’s business and industry
sector are among the reasons frequently put forward
for the town’s failure to secure this vital piece
of infrastructure.

Six years ago there was concern expressed in
Tuam that the town was not included in the first
phase of the Government’s broadband investment.
At the time it was accepted that Tuam would be
included in Phase 2 but this hope is now all but gone
and there is no indication when or if there will be a
phase three.

Two years ago in March of 2006 The Herald
reported that Galway Co Council had made a strong
submission to the Department of Communications
to have Tuam linked to the MANs system but nothing
has come of this initiative.

The fact that Tuam remains unconnected to fibreoptic
broadband, which industrial and commercial
users insist on, is seen as the main reason for the
lack of interest in the IDA’s empty Business Park on
the Dunmore Road.

Industry sources indicated that Tuam’s lack of
fibre-optic connection puts the town way down the
list in terms of job creation projects.

Tuam was designated a Hub town in the National
Spatial Strategy (NSS) and a growth centre in the
County Development Plan but this has made little
impact at decision making level.

e|net, an Irish-owned company which holds the concession to operate MANs built
by the Government in 27 towns
across the country, has been
selected to manage the next
phase of the MANs covering an
additional 66 towns.

A spokesperson for the company
explained that it was a matter
for the Department of Communications
to select the towns
which are to benefit from Phase 2
of the roll out, not e|net.
The system involves building a
fibre optic ring around a town
and this in turn is linked to a
national system.

Businesses and individuals
can then link into the fibre optic
system via their phone lines.
Conal Henry of e|net said 32
different telecoms operators are
now using the MANs as a platform
for delivering their broadband
services to customers.

“The MANs are playing a vital
role in promoting greater
regional foreign direct investment
(FDI) projects, and over
600,000 people throughout Ireland
now have telecommunications
services delivered daily using the
MANs,” he added.

Analysis of IDA job announcements
show that Phase 1 MAN
towns have increased their share
of IDA-backed foreign direct
investment from 24 per cent of
total jobs created in 2004 to 89 per
cent in 2007.

Other research undertaken by
e|net last year revealed that:
• 32,000 private sector jobs rely
directly on the MANs for communications.
• 17,000 public servants also
rely on the MANs for their communications.
• 40,000 homes and businesses
use the MANs indirectly.

watty

Powerline only works inside houses and I'm not even 100% convinced on that. I need to test.

Outdoor PLT / Broadband over powerline doesn't "work"*. Probabily never will.


(* for a specialist technical definition of Work).

SeaSide

Just a question:

I assume that the PLC would come from the local substation (could be wrong). So how did the ESB get it to the substation?

Sponge Bob

SeaSide wrote: »

Just a question:

I assume that the PLC would come from the local substation (could be wrong). So how did the ESB get it to the substation?

Fibre, but no matter because Powerline is a snakeoil technology like perpetual motion .

The inhouse powerline works well but may be superceded by 802.11n in the next few years ( its faster than G) and is shielded by the domestic meter from the public supply and further shielded by the blockwork so it does not cause spectrum pollution unlike the outdoor variant trialled in Tuam.

Its very useful in a large or long building where wireless gets absorbed by blocks, eg a school . It does not have security issues .

If you had a radio buff around ( within 100m ) it may be wise to consult them before and after if you deploy Homeplug ( the inhouse gear) .