“Go for it, do it, it’s worth it” says one South Kilkenny resident who’s first to benefit from Ireland’s first community built Fibre-To-The-Premises network

Two South Kilkenny areas have pooled their resources to provide community broadband.

Piltown and Fiddown were both classified as having “adequate broadband” so are not included for investment under the National Broadband Plan.

So, with the help of Kilkenny Leader Partnership, residents formed Broadband 4 Our Community (B4OC) group and built their own Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network.

It provides 150megabyte speeds and a future-proofed high-speed service to 750 homes and businesses within a 3.4square kilometre stretch.

Our Edwina Grace visited Piltown to meet some of those involved for The Way It Is with Sue Nunn: