In Addition to High Rent, Lack of Connectivity Prevents Tenant From Moving Into new Apartment

The housing crisis driven by rising property prices and a shortage of apartments is plaguing people across the globe, but even when people do find a place, there are other factors preventing them from moving in. In the post-pandemic era when working from home is common as part of hybrid models, an internet connection becomes essential, and accommodation without one only acts as another hurdle. In a recent incident, a homeowner was unable to move into his newly purchased house due to the absence of fiber broadband infrastructure. Despite efforts to expand coverage, many areas in the country, including his location, remain excluded from the National Broadband Plan, leaving approximately 77% of the population without access. Martin, the homeowner, revealed that his residence is among the 15 in the current phase without fiber.

"I was fortunate enough to buy a new house about three weeks ago. I would have been naïve to think a prerequisite of that would have been an internet connection or a fiber internet connection into the premises," he said in an interview with the Lunchtime Live podcast.

"It's actually turned out that's not the case and it does actually seem to take a while after acquiring the house that you actually get the connection," he added.

Despite contacting the authorities, Martin did not receive any response from them. "The thing for me really is to understand how long that period is going to be. Is it going to be three months, six months, or potentially a year? I actually work from home, so I rely heavily on actually having a fiber connection for the ability to work," he stated.

Newstalk Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly shared invaluable advice for people dealing with such an issue. She said, "If you go to Comreg.ie and you put in the Eircode of your property, or your potential property, not only will it tell you what mobile networks cover your area but it'll also tell you about the connectivity in terms of broadband as well."

She mentioned that a geo directory file from Open Eir, which oversees Ireland's largest wholesale full fiber broadband network, is updated quarterly to identify newly built houses requiring coverage under the government's National Broadband Plan. She further noted that if customers manage to reach a representative, they might receive some form of a timeline.

Despite the ambitious scope of plans to ensure that everyone receives broadband connectivity, Jess highlighted that low connectivity remains a significant issue when moving to a new place. "We have homes and businesses in this country that are falling between two stools of the National Broadband Plan intervention area and the fiber provided by commercial providers," she said.

"There are people who are still on shocking speeds and the most frustrating thing is their neighbor two doors down could qualify for fiber," Jess said. "The marking of the areas is very specific, and it can come down to the centimeter on the footpath that would determine if a house is eligible for a fiber connection," she added.