Thousands of homes near two towns in Offaly can now connect to high-speed broadband

NATIONAL Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) on behalf of the Government, has said that over 2,000 premises in Co Offaly can now connect to high-speed fibre broadband in the Banagher and Tyrellspass deployment areas.

This includes over 1,500 premises in the rural surrounds of Banagher and Ferbane in the Banagher deployment area, as well as over 500 premises near Croghan and Kilclonfert in the Tyrrellspass deployment area on the Offaly-Westmeath county border.

13,000 premises in Co Offaly are included in the State’s Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, Co Offaly will receive €48M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 1,509 Offaly premises in the Banagher deployment area and 540 in the Tyrrellspass deployment area that can join the NBI™ network. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living nearby to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.

Network build works are also continuing across Offaly with build works in progress for almost 1,900 premises near Birr and over 2,000 premises near Tullamore, due to be connected by the end of the year.

Works have already been completed in other parts of Offaly and there is a total of 5,942 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 1,315 connections made so far. This includes over 1,200 premises near Moate. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up-to-date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.

NBI has now passed over 344,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 119,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 33% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 50% in areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 2,000 Offaly premises in the Banagher and Tyrellspass deployment areas can now order high-speed broadband services through the NBI™ network. This will enable those who connect to experience the life-changing benefits of high-speed broadband with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second.

“Overall, over 5,900 homes, businesses and farms in Co Offaly can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI™ network. This includes almost 1,400 premises near Mountbolus, over 1,200 near Moate and over 2,000 near Banagher and Kilclonfert.

“We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Offaly residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.”

As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather it enables services from a range of broadband providers or Retail Service Providers (RSPs). As a wholesale provider, NBI will make the new Fibre-to-the-Home network available to all RSPs operating in the Intervention Area.   

Some 72 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI™ network and 68 are certified as ready to start providing connections. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the NBI™ network, visit NBI.ie/buy.

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.  

NBI is encouraging people to check their eligibility and register for updates at www.nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progress in their area.   In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home rollout, the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) nationwide. 955 of these sites, including Public BCPs, are now ‘live’. Public BCPs – which include sports clubs, community centres and tourist sites – will provide free public access to high-speed internet in the rollout area. Other BCP categories include schools and marts.

BCPs will pave the way for rural communities to receive the benefits of broadband, from mobile working, e-learning and mobile banking, to digital tourism. You can view BCPs at www.nbi.ie/bcp-map/. An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Offaly include Shannon Harbour, Irish Parachute Club and Croghan Community Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.