Almost half of Louth rollout now complete – surpassing national average
Local family run manufacturing business nets early fibre connection in the Dundalk area
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 2,650 premises in the Dundalk Deployment Area are now ready to connect to the network. Overall, there are now over 4,100 premises that can order or pre-order a high-speed connection in County Louth.
Up to 9,000 premises in County Louth 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 €33 million of Government investment under the NBP.
Almost half of all premises in the Louth intervention area are now able to connect to high-speed fibre on the National Broadband Ireland network, which means progress in the county is above the national average.
Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland, said: “National Broadband Ireland is delighted to announce that 2,650 premises in the Dundalk deployment area are ready to connect to high-speed broadband on our network. This means there are now over 4,100 homes, farms and businesses in County Louth which can order or pre-order a high speed connection so the rollout is getting close to 50% complete.
“We are calling on residents in the county to visit nbi.ie where they can check their Eircode to see if they can get connected and register for updates. It is our goal to give homes and businesses throughout Ireland the opportunity to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides no matter how rural or remote their location.
”For companies like Magtruss, having a high-speed connection is essential, not only for day-to-day business these days but also to enable new developments to enhance customer experience.”
Keith Magill, Director at Magtruss Ltd and one of the first customers in the Dundalk Deployment Area to be connected to the NBI network said: “Magtruss is a family run construction business and wewere delighted when NBI Gigabit fibre became available to us through our local provider, Net1.
We have recently seen the positive impact a more reliable broadband connection can have for our customers. As we also offer an online system where you can view our products and services, it is important that the connection is strong to facilitate this. We have upgraded our website so customers can see our products and services online and the strong connection we now have supports this.
“Getting connected to the NBI Gigabit fibre has completely transformed our business. The connection is strong, reliable and super-fast. Just what we need. It is great to see such big improvements in such a short space of time. Thank you NBI and thank you Net1.”
John Gartlan, Technical Director at Net1 – the Retail Service Provider selling services on the new fibre network in the area – commented: “Net1 customers, like Magtruss Ltd have believed in us as a broadband partner to deliver high speed broadband to their businesses for nearly 18 years. It is great to see fibre broadband being rolled out to rural parts of the country, allowing business customers like Magtruss to break the Gigabit barrier.
“We pride ourselves in delivering exceptional customer service, and we can’t wait for the businesses and homes we look after to benefit from NBI’s lightning-fast broadband. We are delighted to partner with NBI on this project and look forward continuing to work with them under the National Broadband Plan to bringi more connections to the county.”
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 62 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI network and 51 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 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 560,000 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 Louth include the Mattock Rangers GAA Club, Clogherhead Pier, and Port Beach. 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.
