Almost 4,000 Donegal homes, businesses and farms near Carndonagh and Ballyshannon can now connect to fibre broadband on NBI™ network  

  Over 22,400 premises in Co Donegal 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 almost 4,000 rural premises in its Carndonagh and Ballyshannon deployment areas can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. 

34,000 premises in Co Donegal 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 Donegal will receive €128m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.  

There are 2,781 premises in the Carndonagh deployment area and 1,199 premises in the Ballyshannon deployment area that can join the NBI™ network. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living nearby to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect.  

Works have already been completed in other parts of Donegal, including the rural surrounds of Bunbeg, Creeslough and Letterkenny. There is a total of 22,423 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 4,644 connections made so far.  

Network build works are also continuing across Donegal with build works in progress for over 1,500 premises in NBI’s Ardara deployment area due to be completed by the end of this year. The easiest way to get updates on when a home or business will be ready to order is by signing up for NBI email alerts at nbi.ie/eoi/.  

NBI has now passed over 373,00 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 131,000 now connected. Take-up rates now average 35% and continue to climb, approaching 60% in areas where the network has been live the longest.  

  

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to announce that almost 4,000 Donegal premises in the Carndonagh and Ballyshannon deployment areas can now order high-speed broadband services. This is a significant step for local communities, unlocking everything from remote work and online learning to streaming your favourite shows, and gaming without lag. 

“With 22,400premises across Co Donegal now able to connect, we’re encouraging people to check their Eircode and place an order today to experience the life-changing benefits of reliable, high-speed broadband.”  

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 nbi.ie/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 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 Donegal include Cranford Coole Community Centre, Glenveagh National Park and Meenreagh Hostel. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.