Sir, – In discussing the politicisation and cost of broadband, Eoin Burke-Kennedy (Business, January 30th) wondered about the likely technology landscape for broadband when the construction phase of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) has been completed.
He doesn’t really need to look that far ahead as, thanks to SpaceX’s Starlink, the future is now. This service uses low Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed broadband worldwide, including to Ireland, where it is building an enthusiastic user base thanks to its speeds, latency and uptime. Because user costs don’t vary with remoteness and so long as its antenna can get a clear sky view, set-up of Starlink amounts to unboxing and plugging in three wires as compared with pulling miles of fibre across telegraph poles or through ducts for the NBP.
Given the delays being experienced in executing the NBP and the importance of rural broadband, surely the time is ripe for the Government to consider introducing a voucher scheme to subsidise the €560 cost of Starlink antennas for users in rural locations wishing to use the service. The once-off cost of about €11 million for, say, 20,000 homes would be “petty cash” in comparison with the NBP’s budget. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN FLANAGAN,
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Blackrock,
Co Dublin.