Local business The Junction Restaurant hails the benefits as 1,100 premises have already joined network in county

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 3,800 premises that can be connected in the Mayo Deployment Area.

Up to 37,000 premises in County Mayo 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 €145 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   

2,000 premises in Ballina and the surrounding areas are ready to connect today to the NBI network while a further 1,800 homes, businesses and farms in Castlebar can also avail of a high speed connection. NBI is encouraging Mayo 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.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland, said: “National Broadband Ireland is delighted to announce that over 3,800 homes, farms and businesses in Mayo are now able to connect to our network in towns such as Ballina, Castlebar and Westport. 

 “We want each household and business in Ireland to have the opportunity to access high-speed broadband and all the benefits it creates. As more and more premises will soon be able to connect, we are looking forward to seeing rural Ireland avail of all the benefits high speed broadband has to offer.”

“For Mayo 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 The Junction Restaurant, making day-to-day business easier and more efficient as well as opening up new opportunities.”

Martin Carr, owner of The Junction Restaurant in Ballina and one of the first customers to join the NBI network for his home and business said: “Before high speed broadband, daily activities in the restaurant were time consuming and a lot of work. Since getting connected, the time we spend on tasks has reduced dramatically, particularly with giving people the opportunity to pay with card and the tap application. There’s much more certainty around our connection and speeds and our customers enjoy using our WI-FI network while dining in our restaurant.”

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, over 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 Mayo 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. 

Photo (L-R): Martin Carr, owner of The Junction Restaurant in Ballina, Co. Mayo and one of the first customers to join the NBI network pictured with Adam Ledwith, Media Manager at National Broadband Ireland