Almost 1,600 Donegal homes, businesses and farms near Ardara can now connect to fibre broadband on the NBI network™ 

Almost 24,800 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 1,600 Donegal premises in its Ardara deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. The includes the rural surrounds and townlands of Dawros, Glengesh and Glenties. 

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 1,582 Donegal premises in the Ardara deployment area that can join the NBI network™. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living nearby to visit nbi.ie  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 communities on the Inishowen Peninsula and surrounds of Fintown and Ballyshannon. There is a total of 24,782 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 6,049 connections made so far. 

Network build works are also continuing across Donegal with build works in progress for almost 3,100 premises near Donegal town, due to be connected by the end of next year. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at 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.

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that almost 1,600 Donegal premises in the Ardara deployment area can now order high-speed broadband services through the NBI 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. 

“Overall, almost 24,800 homes, businesses and farms in Co Donegal can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI network™. This includes the rural communities of Fintown, Ballyshannon and the Inishowen Peninsula. We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Donegal residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.” 

National Rollout Progress

NBI has now passed over 430,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 153,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 35% 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. 

Choosing a Broadband Provider

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 66 are certified to provide connections as of today. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the NBI network™, visit nbi.ie.

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