Eir evo is to deploy back-up satellite connectivity infrastructure to some of the country’s most isolated areas after winning a seven-year Government contract aimed at ensuring these communities stay online during emergencies, such as storms.

The project is targeting 21 areas initially, with the potential to scale to 300 locations and island locations, such as Inishturk, Co Mayo, will be among the first to see rollout of the satellite backups.

Eir evo has said that the project will attempt to strengthen the resilience of public services like schools, health clinics and Garda stations when regular communications infrastructure fails or is damaged.

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Should towers or cables fall during storm, emergency services and healthcare teams are to remain in touch with rural communities impacted by the outages via the new satellite deployments.

“Storm Éowyn was a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by our remote communities,” stated the managing director of eir evo Susan Brady.

“This isn’t just a technical upgrade, it’s a lifeline for healthcare teams, emergency responders and residents.”

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers welcomed the project as one that will “help us transform our public services by ensuring they have the modern infrastructure they need to work securely and reliably, no matter where people live or what challenges arise.”

Minister of State Emer Higgins said the project “will ensure emergency teams can stay connected in the most remote areas, helping people stay safe especially during bad weather or emergencies”.