Local business Winkens Architecture hails the benefits as 1,300 premises have already joined network
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 overall, there are over 3,500 premises that can be connected in the Wexford Deployment Area.
Up to 23,000 premises in County Wexford 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, the County will receive €88 million of Government investment under the NBP.
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 59 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI network and 48 are certified as ready to start providing connections as of today. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the NBI™ network, visit NBI.ie/buy
NBI is encouraging Wexford residents to visit the nbi.ie website where they can search their Eircode to find out if they are ready to connect and sign up for updates.
Joe Lavin, Chief Commercial Officer of National Broadband Ireland, said: “National Broadband Ireland is delighted to be able to say that 3,500 homes, farms and businesses in Wexford are now able to connect to our network and that 1,300 premises have already signed up with one of our retail partners. We are on a mission to enable homes and business all over Ireland to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides.
“For Wexford families, whether working or studying at home, or accessing entertainment, an NBI high speed connection means multiple devices online at the same time is no problem. It’s also a game-changer for companies, like Winkens Architecture, making day-to-day business easier and more efficient as well as opening up new opportunities.”
Zeno Winkens, owner of Winkens Architecture, and one of the first customers in the Wexford Deployment Area to be connected to the NBI network said: “Like businesses all over Ireland, we are now heavily reliant on broadband and what it does for our business on a day-to-day basis. I was delighted when NBI Gigabit fibre became available to us through our local provider, Carnsore Broadband.
“We have a deep commitment to sustainability and appreciate the environmental benefits of high speed broadband in facilitating people to make their homes in places in Ireland they want to live and work. We take pride in helping our clients to make liveable homes incorporating all their comforts and necessities, of which broadband is now key. The NBI rollout to rural locations, no matter how remote, will enable more and more people to live and work in homes designed to our high standards and their specifications.”
Derek Conniffe, Technical Director, Carnsore Broadband Ltd – the Retail Service Provider selling services on the new fibre network in the area – commented: “Carnsore customers like Zeno rely on us to be a trusted broadband partner, working with them to deliver the best solution for their business. We are really excited to collaborate with NBI on this project to provide WInkens Architecture with unlimited 1Gb fibre broadband as part of the National Broadband Plan.
“The National Broadband Plan will also further empower the drive to bring more businesses and a skilled workforce to the South East of Ireland, something businesses like ourselves here at Carnsore have been actively encouraging for years. Customers all around the county are now enjoying the advantages of high-speed fibre broadband, and we have already heard nothing but good things from them. We take great pleasure in providing excellent customer service, and we can’t wait for the businesses and homes we look after to benefit from NBI’s lightning-fast broadband and all the possibilities it opens up.”
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.
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs)
In advance of the Fibre-to-the-Home rollout, the NBP provides for the delivery of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) nationwide. 574 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 /bcp-map/. An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Wexford include Stella Maris Community Centre, the Hook Head Visitor Centre, Raheen Parochial House and Marshalstown GAA Club. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.
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.
