Initiative launched to tackle poor mobile phone coverage in Offaly
A new initiative has launched aimed at improving the connectivity for communities in Offaly who are suffering from poor mobile phone coverage.
Get Connected is seeking to improve mobile coverage in the areas which need it most, by asking the community to come together and request a review of their services.
Get Connected is being supported by Cellnex, the telecoms infrastructure operator with over 1,700 telecoms sites around the country, and Offaly is one of the first two counties where it is being rolled out. The intention is to expand Get Connected into a nationwide project supporting communities in all 26 counties, and ending the scourge of mobile blackspots
The objective is to mobilise support within communities to participate in the planning and delivery of mobile connectivity in their local areas. Get Connected is officially launching a ‘Community Call’ through its website www.getconnected.ie which invites communities to come together to request a review of the mobile coverage in their local area to see if a solution to their mobile connectivity issue can be delivered.
Anthony Hanniffy, President of Tullamore & District Chamber of Commerce said, 'the Chamber welcomes any initiative that promotes connectivity in Rural Ireland. It is our firm belief that remote working will become a normal part of life and we need to deliver tools to our employees and businesses to give them an opportunity to succeed in an increasingly competitive and connected world.”
Since its launch in 2013 Cellnex has invested over €3m constructing more than 25 new telecoms towers in locations throughout counties Laois and Offaly.
For example, in Clonmacnoise, Co Offaly, a new tower is currently under construction aimed at enhancing the mobile coverage to the area along with helping improve mobile reception for the hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting the famous ancient monastery.
Last month Cellnex supported Offaly County Council’s launch of e-denderry, a project which establishes the Midlands town as a leader in Ireland for the provision of public services through leveraging the benefits of technology.