Founded in 1997, Foamalite manufacturers versatile PVC sheeting at its state-of-the-art facility in Lough Gowna in County Cavan, where it employs 52 staff. Though PVC manufacturing is a niche market, Siobhan Reilly, Foamalite's internal manager, explains that it is quite a competitive industry, and companies in the sector need all the edge they can get to stand out from the crowd.
As much as 95 percent of Foamalite's business is export-based, according to Reilly, who said that broadband was vital to the firm if it was to boost its competitiveness and cut costs. "Broadband was essential to the continued growth of our company, as an international business, especially in terms of speedy turnarounds to our customers," she says.
People power
While parts of Cavan had benefited from broadband availability, Lough Gowna, with a population of around 560, was excluded, to the detriment of Foamalite, neighbouring businesses and local residents. In 2005 Foamalite discovered that Eircom was not planning on bringing DSL broadband to the Lough Gowna area for at least another two years. This was deemed too long to wait by Foamalite, which wanted to implement high-speed internet access urgently.
The firm got together with the local community and the community development manager to investigate how they could get broadband to Lough Gowna. With DSL out of the question, Reilly said they considered satellite broadband, but ultimately deemed it too expensive and unreliable. They then began to look at a number of broadband providers that would be willing to roll out broadband in the area.
The community held a public meeting about the broadband situation, outlining the many benefits of broadband and explaining the advantages it could provide to businesses, schools and hotels in the area. The community development manager applied for funding for broadband under the National Community Broadband Scheme, and was successful.
With the funding in place, the group went about lobbying a number of broadband providers. Finally, the community was able to persuade Digiweb to step into the breach. "It really was a long drawn-out process, but we knew that if we didn't do something about it we would have been waiting another two years for broadband in the area," says Reilly. "Digiweb set up a mast in the local area and provided the Lough Gowna community with wireless broadband."
Having broadband has made a big difference to Foamalite, according to Reilly. "It has helped us to cut down on communication costs, as well as improving our relationship with our customers and basically allowing us to work faster." To other businesses who are facing similar difficulties, Reilly suggests teaming up with the community, thus adding more weight to the request for broadband.
Looking ahead
Foamalite and Lough Gowna's experience is not unique, and firms that find themselves in a similar situation should bear in mind that there are dozens of broadband providers - household names as well as lesser-known firms - that may offer broadband services in their area.
In searching for a broadband provider, a useful port of call is a website set up by the communications regulator called Ask ComReg. This site provides a comprehensive list of broadband service providers, outlining the areas in which they operate and the type of broadband technology they offer.
As well as the ComReg site, GetBroadband.ie is another resource for researching broadband services in particular areas of the country. The site provides users with an interactive map of Ireland, from which they can select their location. They are then presented with the options available to them in that area, including information on the type of broadband technology available and the prices being charged.
Sites like these are good starting points for firms located outside urban areas, or situated some distance from a broadband-enabled exchange, who want to enjoy the benefits of broadband but are unsure of their options.