Portugal Colonial - Thousands of Urban Homes Left Without High-Speed Internet Due to Broadband Blackspots

Thousands of homes in Dublin’s southern suburbs remain without high-speed internet due to persistent 'broadband blackspots,' according to Stillorgan Councillor John Kennedy. The issue, which affects areas including Foxrock, Carrickmines, Cabinteely, Kilmacud, and Clonskeagh, was highlighted by Kennedy through a motion passed at the Fine Gael Ard Fhéis last week.

Kennedy described the situation as a long-standing problem for his constituents in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. He noted that while rural broadband initiatives have been successful, commercial providers have failed to upgrade thousands of urban homes to full-fibre broadband. The primary barriers are high installation costs and technical impediments encountered in these densely populated areas.

"This has been an ongoing issue for many years where the rural-based broadband plan has been very successful but commercial providers have yet to upgrade thousands of urban homes to full-fibre broadband due to the high cost of installing where such homes have encountered technical impediments," Kennedy said.

A significant factor in the disparity is the definition of high-speed internet itself. Kennedy pointed out that the official threshold for high-speed broadband remains 30 Mbps, a standard set nearly a decade ago and never updated. This figure is substantially lower than the gigabit speeds targeted by the government, which are approximately 33 times higher than the current official definition.

The problem extends beyond Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Kennedy noted that many urban homes in north Dublin areas, such as Skerries and Balbriggan, also suffer from slow broadband connections below even the outdated 30 Mbps threshold, causing "immense frustration" among residents.

In response to these challenges, Kennedy has urged Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to explore a pilot scheme. The proposed initiative would test a combined approach involving the council, the Department of Communications, and commercial providers to identify and resolve technical impediments in affected communities. During a November monthly meeting, the council confirmed that such a pilot scheme is under active consideration for homes still impacted in the Foxrock area.

Industry experts have echoed concerns about the reach of current infrastructure. SIRO Fibre Broadband highlighted that while Comreg data indicates 86% of Irish premises now have access to excessive fibre, between 100,000 and 200,000 premises will remain unable to access full broadband once current commercial rollouts are complete.

SIRO attributed this gap to the high cost of building networks to these specific premises, which renders them uncommercial for private providers. Consequently, SIRO has called on the government to fund a Network Resilience and Diversity Investment Programme. A spokesperson stated that such a programme would help connect remaining blackspots, improve network resilience, strengthen international connectivity links, and support climate-resilient communications infrastructure.

John Keaney, CEO of SIRO, emphasized that while Ireland has made enormous progress in rolling out full-fibre broadband, strategic gaps remain. He noted that up to 200,000 premises may still be unable to access fibre, while many Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to rely on outdated copper networks.

"Ireland has made enormous progress in rolling out full-fibre broadband, but some strategic gaps remain," Keaney said. "Up to 200,000 premises may still be unable to access fibre broadband, while many Irish SMEs continue to rely on outdated copper networks."

SIRO’s Budget 2027 proposals include practical measures to address these challenges, suggesting that government investment in blackspots and support for business adoption of fibre could help Ireland achieve its ambition of gigabit connectivity for all by 2028.

The issue underscores the tension between national digital targets and the economic realities of last-mile infrastructure deployment. As the government moves toward its 2028 deadline, the focus remains on whether targeted interventions can bridge the gap for those left behind by commercial rollouts.

J.Pereira--PC