The Broadband Connection Point (BCP) at Laharn Heritage Centre has been activated in recent days providing the North Cork community with free high speed broadband.
BCPs are public locations which have been selected to receive high-speed connectivity in the first year of the National Broadband Plan. The locations of the BCPs have been selected by the local authorities and include public areas such as community halls, libraries, sports facilities, enterprise hubs, tourist locations and other public spaces.
At Laharn Heritage Centre, there are a number of options available to you to use the BCP there:
· Avail of high speed broadband FREE from the Car Park at Laharn Heritage Centre
· Use our newly refurbished office which has been created at the Centre
· Hot desk in one of our open plan dedicated work spaces
· Available for training and educational purposes
· Access to printing services
· Access to kitchen facilities
Welcoming the activation of the BCP at Laharn Heritage Centre, Sheila Crowley, Secretary of Laharn Community Action CLG said “We are delighted to see the BCP going live this week. It is a great boost for Laharn and the local community and I would encourage all who need to use the facility to do so. You can come to Laharn Heritage Centre, park in the car park and connect to the high speed broadband and upload that document or download that file you need. This service is available to everyone for free”.
Ms. Crowley added “We also have created a dedicated office for anyone who wishes to use it for their work – be it doing their daily job or on online training course, whatever it is, we can now accommodate you here in Laharn. The office is available at a very reasonable fee and we also have access to printing facilities and kitchen facilities at the centre now which is great for the users. We also have open plan work spaces for people who wish to use them. I live just a few hundred metres away from the Centre and the speed of the broadband here is 20 times faster than I have myself at home. This is excellent for the area and I want to welcome anyone who wishes to use it. We share in the government’s ambition about remote working so we will work with them and other agencies to promote the BCP at Laharn over the coming weeks and months.”.
Cork County Council has confirmed that 24 Broadband Connection Points have been approved for County Cork which will provide people in rural areas with internet connectivity prior to the full roll-out of the National Broadband Plan. A contractual requirement of the National Broadband Plan, which has a construction programme of three to five years is that Broadband Connection Points are established at publicly accessible locations during the first year of the contract. So, this means that people living in rural areas will be able to avail of internet connectivity at specific locations like Laharn Heritage Centre until such time as high-speed broadband will be available to their own premises. This relates to homes within the Amber intervention area of the National Broadband Plan. Close to 30% of County Cork is within the Amber intervention area, slightly higher than the national average.
Cllr. Tony O’Shea with Sheila Crowley, secretary of Laharn Community Action CLG in the new office space at Laharn Heritage Centre Broadband Connection Point.
Local Fine Gael Councillor Tony O’Shea who is also a member of Laharn Community Action CLG Said “I also very much welcome the activation of our BCP here in Laharn Heritage Centre. I receive alot of calls about poor broadband networks and the frustration that causes to people who wishes to use it. Be it the college student who wants to do their online exams to the person who wants to do an online conference call, the BCP facility at Laharn Heritage Centre can now offer you this service within your own community. We are very grateful to Cork County Council for selecting us as to be one of the locations to roll out the BCP and for the North Cork Local Action Group through its implementing partner IRD Duhallow for a small grant to create the dedicated office to support the BCP. I encourage everyone to use it and make it a success”.
Some other locations approved for a BCP in and around North Cork include:
· Aghabullogue Community Centre
· Aubane Community Centre
· Ballydaly Community Hall
· Courtbrack Community Centre
· Glash Community Centre
· Laharn Heritage Centre
· T.O. park Community Hall
· Whitechurch Community Centre
Anyone who wishes to avail of the BCP at Laharn Heritage Centre can contact Laharn Cross at laharncross@hotmail.com or by calling 086 8903154. You can also find Laharn Heritage Centre on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laharn.heritage & Twitter @LaharnCross
