€46m investment to serve almost 12,000 Leitrim homes, farms and businesses
High-speed connectivity on the way as 2,500 Leitrim homes, farms and businesses near Manorhamilton see build works commence
1,879 premises in the county can order a high-speed connection today
National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the National Broadband Plan on behalf of the Government, has announced that construction has commenced to deliver high-speed broadband to over 2,500 homes, farms and businesses in the Manorhamilton deployment area in Co Leitrim. These build works include the rural communities of Drumahaire, Lurganboy and Manorhamilton.
NBI will visit Co Leitrim next week with the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Joe Lavin, delivering an update to the County Council’s Economic Strategy Group in the Kinlough Community Centre on Monday, 4th March.
Almost 12,000 premises in County Leitrim are included in the State’s Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, and farms. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, Co Leitrim will receive €46 million of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.
Joe Lavin, Chief Commercial Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “I am delighted to have an opportunity to provide an update to Co Leitrim Councillors and industry representatives. I want to thank the Council for working very constructively with NBI as we are in regular contact on our build works.
“We are rolling out the National Broadband Plan high speed fibre network with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to almost 12,000 premises in Leitrim. The benefits of the speed and reliability of NBI fibre are huge. Leitrim residents who connect will be able to work, study and play online all at the same time without interruption. For farms and businesses, high-speed broadband unlocks opportunities to expand and innovate.
“We are acutely aware of the critical role of digital connectivity in rural development and the importance of delivering the Government’s National Broadband Plan to ensure equitable access to digital services for all.
“Our teams are making steady progress in Leitrim where 59% of the NBI broadband network is either under construction or already complete. By the end of this year, over 5,900 premises, or 50% of the total rollout in Leitrim, will be ready to connect.
“Over 1,500 homes and businesses in the county can order or pre-order a connection to high-speed fibre today, including over 900 premises in Carrick-on-Shannon and almost 900 around the Keshcarrigan deployment area.
“277 premises have already connected which is below the average take-up rate nationally, so we are encouraging Leitrim residents to visit nbi.ie/eoi to check their status using their Eircode and to sign up for updates.
“We are also letting people know that build works are due to conclude for a further 1,346 premises around Keshcarrigan and we expect those premises will be able to connect shortly, while 2,500 Manorhamilton premises which have commenced construction will be able to connect later in the year. Engineering survey works are now complete for the majority of the remaining deployment areas and we are working hard to move all Leitrim premises through the design and build phases as we deliver on our target to make connections available for all by the end of 2026.”
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 66 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the National Broadband Ireland network and 59 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 National Broadband Ireland network, visit NBI.ie/buy.
National Broadband Ireland contractors have been on the ground across the country and over 231,513 premises nationwide can order or pre-order broadband on the NBI network so far.
The National Broadband Ireland 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.
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.
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 www.nbi.ie/bcp-map/. An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Leitrim includes Leitrim Gaels Community Facility, Killargue Hub and Killenumery Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also being connected for educational access as part of the NBP.
