Take up exceeds targets as over 100,000 premises connected to National Broadband Ireland’s high-speed fibre broadband network 

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for delivering the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced in its latest quarterly report that by the end of 2025, it will have made high-speed fibre broadband available to over 420,000 premises. 

In November 2019, the National Broadband Plan contract was signed and to date NBI has already made high-speed fibre broadband available to over 55% of all premises in the Intervention Area, as the rollout is expected to deliver on schedule and on budget.  

Build Progress  

Construction has been completed or is currently underway for 86% of premises (483,594). 

There are now 310,676 homes, farms and businesses that have been passed with NBI fibre (out of the 564,000 included in the NBP Intervention Area). When a premises is passed, an order can be placed by the occupant to connect to high-speed fibre broadband on the NBI™ network through their own choice of one of the 72 participating broadband providers.  

 As the National Broadband Plan nears completion, take-up rates continue to grow. 104,517 premises have already connected to the NBI network, with the average take-up rate (34%) well ahead of projections and international comparisons. The connection rate reaches 50% in areas where the NBI™ network has been live for at least 18 months.  

Over 4,500 premises were connected to the NBI network in October 2024 alone, the highest number of monthly net connections made on the NBI™ network to date. 

For those premises remaining to be passed, NBI has almost completed the outstanding preliminary surveys required. These preliminary surveys include the physical assessment of existing pole and duct network across the country, followed by a detailed design process where the optimum fibre route is determined. Over 96% of premises included in the rollout have been surveyed while 95% of design work has been completed.  

NBP benefits highlighted in independent report by EY 

NBI recently welcomed the positive findings of EY’s independent Interim Evaluation Report on the National Broadband Plan. The report highlights the significant progress made in connecting rural Ireland, with high levels of take-up surpassing original targets. The Report found that this level of take-up underscores the high demand for high-speed broadband in NBI’s Intervention Area. 

The report further praised the project’s broader economic and social benefits, including enhanced competition, increased employment, and improved quality of life for residents in the Intervention Area.  

 Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “The NBI team are incredibly proud of the progress on the deployment phase of our project, and in how quickly we have reached the milestone of 100,000 connected customers on our network. 

“While NBI’s initial, large-scale rollout project will be completed in the coming years, this is only the beginning of our digital connectivity role. NBI will continue to operate the network and connect new homes and businesses to our fibre infrastructure for the next 20 years at least. Ireland, and rural Ireland in particular, will continue to reap the benefits of the National Broadband Plan for generations to come. 

“There is huge demand for fast, reliable broadband and our take-up rates are reflecting this. We’re working hard on the ground to ensure our rollout stays on track and we have now achieved and exceeded our targets for 2024. Next year, we aim to have passed over 420,000 homes, businesses, and farms, which will leave us in a strong position to complete our rollout program in line with our contractual commitments.” 

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 makes the new Fibre-to-the-Home network available to all RSPs operating in the Intervention Area.     

  Some 72 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI™ network, 68 of which are certified as ready to start providing connections as of today. To check whether you are in the Intervention Area and to see the list of retail broadband providers that are currently ready to sell on the NBI™ network, visit NBI.ie/buy.  

Progress update as of 08.11.2024  

  • 96% of premises (540,119 premises) have now completed the survey stage of the programme.   
  • 86% % of the project (483,594 premises) have moved to or through construction.   
  • The number of premises passed, and which can connect to NBI’s fibre network is 310,676  
  • Over 104,517 premises are connected to the NBI™ network.   
  • Take-up rates are exceeding 50% in the Deployment Areas that were released first.   
  • 955 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) have been installed and are live, 672 of which are located in schools.    
  • The NBI infrastructure is already live on 10 of the 27 islands included in the rollout, while the remaining 17 islands are in various stages of survey and design works.