Over 1,000 Westmeath homes, businesses and farms near Lismacaffrey can now connect to fibre broadband on National Broadband Ireland network

Almost 8,600 premises in Co Westmeath can avail of 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 said that over 1,000 Westmeath properties in its Lismacaffrey deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. The area covers the rural surrounds of Coole and Hilltown, as well as premises on the Westmeath-Longford county border near Liscmacaffrey.

12,000 premises in Co Westmeath 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, Co Westmeath will receive €46M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 1,095 Westmeath premises in the Lismacaffrey deployment area that can join the National Broadband Ireland network. Works have already been completed in other parts of Westmeath and there is a total of 8,576 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 2,781 connections made so far. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.

Network build works are also continuing across Westmeath with works in progress for almost 1,500 premises near Tyrrellspass, almost 1,000 near Ballymahon and over 450 near Hill of Down. 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.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 1,000 Westmeath premises around Lismacaffrey can now order high-speed broadband services through the National Broadband Ireland network. This will enable those who connect to experience the life-changing benefits of high-speed broadband with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second.

“Almost 8,600 homes, businesses and farms in Co Westmeath can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the National Broadband Ireland network. This includes:

  • over 3,200 premises near Mullingar,
  • over 1,700 Delvin,
  • over 1,600 premises in Moate, and 
  • almost 1,100 in Athlone.

“We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Westmeath residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.”

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 71 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the National Broadband Ireland network and 68 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 259,161 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 Westmeath include Bunbrosna GAA Club, Milltown Emper Community Centre and Streete Parish Park & Community Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.