Over 11,500 premises in Co Laois 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 (NBP) on behalf of the Government, has said that over 11,500 Laois homes, businesses and farms can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection, with over 4,000 premises already connected to NBI’s network. 

13,000 premises in Co Laois 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 Laois will receive €49M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan. 

National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living in Co Laois to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect. 

There is a total of 11,536 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 4,343 connections made so far. This includes the rural communities of Mountrath, Portlaoise and Ballylinan. 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. 

NBI has now passed over 344,800 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with just almost 119,018 now connected. The average take-up rate of 33% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 50% in areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months. 

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 4,000 Laois premises have already connected to NBI’s network. Overall, over 11,500 homes, businesses and farms in Co Laois can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI™ network. This includes almost 1,800 premises near Ballylinan, almost 2,600 near Mountrath and almost 3,700 near Portlaoise. This will enable those who connect to experience the life-changing benefits of high-speed broadband with minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second. 

“We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Laois 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 72 RSPs have already signed up to sell services on the NBI™ 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 NBI™ network, visit NBI.ie/buy. 

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 nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progress 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 Laois include Donaghmore Workhouse and Agriculture Museum, Muckalee Handball Club and Crosspatrick Community Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.