Mayo County Council has received an Ireland eGovernment Local Government Award for it’s Telecommunications Asset Register Project at an awards ceremony in City Hall, Dublin, on September 11.
The project will see Mayo County Council install ducting across the county in both urban and rural areas. This is being done as part of planned works for future telecommunications purposes.
Long-term the information would be made available to the winner of the National Broadband Plan contract through a Geographical Information System, making it simpler for the installation of Broadband in Mayo.
Speaking after receiving the award, Catherine McConnell, Director of Services, says the project is a long-term money saver; “Mayo County Council are proud to receive the Local Government Award for our Telecommunications Asset Register Project. It is estimated that 65% to 75% of the cost of building fibre broadband networks is directly related to the civil works involved in the installation of the ducting. This makes any existing ducting extremely valuable once its location is known and so surveying and digitising this infrastructure is an extremely worthwhile project as it will save the tax payer money and it will result in a quicker rollout of the National Broadband Plan.
“Our view is that if all Local Authorities undertook this project that it would result in a faster rollout of high-speed telecommunications and a significant saving to the tax payer.”
Mayo County Council previously installed spare ducting as part of various civil works carried out over the past two decades. This project will allow the Local Authority, and others around the country, to map these assets for future use.
Another potential benefit of this project is to use GIS analysis in conjunction with Road Improvement Programme data to establish opportunities to future proof road works so that they include broadband infrastructure going forward.
Pictured: David Reddington, Broadband Department, Mayo County Council, Catherine McConnell, Director of Services, Mayo County Council, Mary Mitchell-O’Connor TD, Minister of State for Higher Education, Stephen Carolan, Broadband Department, Mayo County Council
