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 announced that 3,152 premises in Mullingar are available to order or pre-order broadband on the NBI network. A further 1,047 premises in Athlone are in the build phase of the rollout and will soon be made available to pre-order.
Over 12,000 premises in County Westmeath are included in the State’s Intervention Area, which 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, County Westmeath will receive €46m of Government investment under the NBP.
In Mullingar, 3,152 premises can join the network as they have now been connected. In Athlone, 1,047 premises have been surveyed to date with network designs completed to deliver the new Fibre to the Home (FTTH) network in the area. NBI crews have started initial works for the build in townlands across Athlone. These ‘make ready’ works pave the way for the next stage of deploying fibre on poles/ducts, and include the erection of poles, unblocking of ducts, and the insertion of subduct into existing ducts, for the fibre to be installed. The build works in Athlone are anticipated to be completed by March 2023.
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.
The website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at /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.
Peter Hendrick, CEO of National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that 3,150 premises in Mullingar can now order or pre-order broadband services through the NBI network. This will enable users to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides.
“As an increasing number of homes and businesses are being connected, we are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as we look to connect thousands more homes and businesses. We are acutely aware that people want access to high-speed broadband and our goal is to deliver that as quickly as possible.”
NBI contractors have been on the ground since January 2020 surveying townlands across the county. This involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area, and enables design solutions for the provision of the fibre network.
Under the National Broadband Plan, 559,000 premises nationwide are included in the Intervention Area, which was established by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to identify areas where commercial operators are not currently providing access to high-speed broadband or do not intend to.
Keep up to Speed!
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 progresses in their area.
