Residents of Achill Island, Achillbeg, Clare Island and Inishbiggle off the coast of Mayo can place an order for a fibre broadband connection
National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the National Broadband Plan (NBP) has announced that residents on Achill Island off the coast of Co Mayo can now place an order for high-speed fibre broadband, with connections set to go live this summer.
NBI is delivering its fibre broadband infrastructure to 3,156 homes and businesses on Achill Island and the surrounding area on the mainland coastline. This includes 2,481 premises on the island and 675 premises in the Corraun and Ballycroy townlands on the mainland in Mayo.
Over 200 premises on the neighbouring offshore islands of Achillbeg, Inishbiggle and Clare Island can place an order for NBI’s fibre today.
Those interested in ordering broadband or finding out more information on when they will be able to connect can call the NBI contact centre on 0818 624 624 or visit www.nbi.ie.
Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland, said: “At the heart of the National Broadband Plan is our mission to ensure that no community is left behind. This is true for all remote and rural areas across Ireland, including our island communities.
“We are proud to deliver high-speed broadband infrastructure to residents of Achill Island, Achillbeg, Inishbiggle and Clare Island. These communities will have access to the same quality, speeds and reliability that our network offers to anyone living on the mainland.
Local business owner, Anna Sutcliffe, House of Achill, said: “My work is completely online, and I can’t afford to have a bad connection. A reliable connection is the difference between getting things done and feeling stuck. If the internet drops, everything stops – my business, my meetings, and connectivity for islanders and kids. The biggest thing fibre broadband will give us is freedom; freedom to live here, work here, and not have to leave just to get a decent connection.”
The rollout of the National Broadband Plan comes ahead of proposals to begin decommissioning Ireland’s legacy copper phone line network which has supported telephone landline communication and basic internet access. With fibre broadband now being deployed nationwide, copper lines are increasingly obsolete, and plans are being developed for their phased removal over the coming years, a process known as copper switch-off.
Mr. Hendrick said, “Copper networks were never designed to cater for the digital demands of today’s society, which is why the shift to fibre is essential.
“Modern broadband services need fast, reliable infrastructure such as the network that NBI is deploying under the National Broadband Plan. The good news for consumers in the National Broadband Plan rollout area is that many can already make the switch to fibre today and future-proof their connection.
“The even better news is that NBI’s open-access network is available through over 50 different broadband providers, offering consumers a greater choice, quality, and competitiveness of service not previously available. Making the switch will also allow people to shop around and even save money.”
37,000 premises in Co Mayo 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 Mayo will receive €145M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.
Works have already been completed in other parts of Mayo and there is a total of 12,105 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 3,620 connections made so far.
The NBI infrastructure is already live on ten islands including Inishlyre Island and Collanmore Island off the coast of Mayo; Hare Island and Long Island off the coast of Cork; Turbot Island and Inishturk South Island off the coast of Galway; as well as Inishfree Island, Rutland Island, Eadarinis Island and Eighter Island off the coast of Donegal. (See further information in note below.)
NBI has now passed over 350,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 120,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 34% 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.
