High-speed connectivity on the way as over 1,600 Waterford homes, farms and businesses near Ballinamult see build works commence

Nearly 7,000 homes, businesses and farms in Waterford can avail of a high-speed connection today

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) today announced that construction has commenced to deliver high-speed broadband to over 1,600 premises in the Ballinamult deployment area. This includes the rural surrounds of Ballinamult, Cappoquin and Ballymacarbry.

In Waterford, there are approximately 16,000 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), which includes homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools. Under the National Broadband Plan, County Waterford will see an investment of €59M in the new high speed fibre network. This will enable e-learning, remote monitoring of livestock or equipment, e-health initiatives, better energy efficiency in the home, and facilitate increased levels of remote working.

Having successfully completed the Survey and Design phase of the project, 1,666 Waterford premises in the Ballinamult deployment area are now under construction to have high-speed fibre. National Broadband Ireland’s 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.

Meanwhile, build works are under way for over 2,100 properties in the Tallow deployment with connections to NBI’s high-speed fibre broadband network set to be available later this year.

Rollout works have already been completed in other parts of Waterford and there are now 6,920 premises which can order or pre-order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county, with over 2,000 already connected to the network. National Broadband Ireland is encouraging residents to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland said: “Our teams are working on the ground all over the country and considerable progress has been made on the rollout in Co Waterford. High-speed fibre broadband is now available to order for over 3,800 homes, businesses and farms surrounding Waterford City, over 1,400 around Carrick-on-Suir and 1,200 Waterford premises in towns and townlands near Youghal. 

“Meanwhile, build works are underway for over 2,100 properties in the Tallow deployment area which will be able to connect to its high-speed fibre broadband network in the second half of 2024.”

He continued: “As the the rollout continues at pace, we are confident in our ability to progress premises from the construction phase to the order phase as quickly as possible. In collaboration with retail service providers and other key stakeholders, we’re actively connecting homes in Waterford to minimum internet speed of 500Mbps. This means access to reliable broadband all the time all over the home.”

“In today’s world, digital connectivity is integral to our daily lives, and the NBI fibre network will play a pivotal role in sustaining local businesses and communities.”

National Broadband Ireland provides regular updates on the overall progress of the rollout which is being delivered on budget and ahead of schedule. To date, over 217,108 premises nationwide can order or pre-order broadband on the NBI network.

Under the National Broadband Plan, 564,000 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 nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progresses in their area.  

Broadband Connection Points

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 nbi.ie/bcp-map/. An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Waterford include Modeligo Community Hall, Knockanore Community Centre and Ballysaggart Community Centre. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.

Photo Caption: Justine Judge, National Broadband Ireland, Jack Doyle, Waterford County Council, Jamie Moroney, MTS Media Ltd, with Waterford connected customer Max Halley in Dunmore East.