Broadband rollout delays open the door to new satellite challengers

The low-latency satellite system Starlink is a potential Plan B if the rural broadband scheme being rolled out continues to miss its targets

National Broadband Ireland’s rollout has fallen far short of its own targets 18 months into the project.

The roof of Brian Flanagan’s home in Blackrock, Co Dublin is adorned with a small tricolour sandwiched in between his chimney and a Starlink antenna, through which high-speed broadband is delivered to his home.

Starlink is a low-latency satellite broadband system developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is available in beta in Ireland as it awaits licensing from ComReg, the telecoms regulator.

A trial of the technology is also being carried out in the Black ...