Almost 25,000 Kerry homes and businesses can now avail of a fibre connection to the NBI network™  

 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 announced that over 6,700 homes, farms and businesses in Kerry have now connected to NBI’s network.  

There are now 24,942 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across Kerry with 6,768 connections made to date. Works have been completed in most rural areas across the county, most recently near Castleisland.  

The rollout to rural areas surrounding major towns in Kerry such as Listowel, Tralee and Killarney is also complete. Under the National Broadband Plan, these towns themselves are not included in NBI’s rollout as commercial operators are providing, or plan to provide, high-speed broadband to these areas.  

NBI’s fibre broadband rollout under the National Broadband Plan is delivering broadband services to what is known as the State’s Intervention Area, which includes the most remote and rural parts of Ireland where commercial operators have no plans to deliver high-speed broadband. The Intervention Area currently includes 28,000 premises in Kerry, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools across the county. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, County Kerry will receive €107m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan. 

National Broadband Ireland is encouraging all Kerry residents living in rural areas to visit nbi.ie and check their Eircode to see if they’re ready to connect and find out more about placing an order.   

As Ireland transitions away from legacy copper networks, NBI’s fibre network will ensure communities across Kerry are prepared for the future by supporting remote working, education, healthcare access and local enterprise while providing the reliability needed for everyday living. 

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We’re proud to see that almost 25,000 Kerry homes and businesses can now avail of a high-speed fibre connection through the NBI network™, with 6,700 premises in County Kerry already connected to NBI’s network.   

“January is widely considered as the start of switcher season, with many broadband providers offering competitive pricing and switching incentives at this time of year. This makes it an ideal time for households and businesses across Kerry to move to fibre, particularly as fibre broadband could cost the same as slower copper services and customers can still keep their existing phone number when they switch. 

“As we enter the final year of the National Broadband Plan rollout, we’re encouraging everyone in Kerry to check their Eircode on nbi.ie and order now to secure high-speed fibre broadband for their home or business.”

National Rollout Progress  

NBI has now passed over 443,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 161,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 36% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 60% in some areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months.   

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated completion dates. With the main rollout due to be concluded by the end of this year, the remaining homes and businesses yet to be passed will be able to place an order for high-speed broadband in the coming months. The easiest way to get updates on when a premises will be ready to order is by signing up for NBI email alerts at nbi.ie.   

As fibre networks expand across Ireland, offering superior speed, capacity, and reliability, older copper telephone and broadband infrastructure will start to be decommissioned.  The European Commission has proposed 2030 as the latest date for the decommissioning of legacy copper networks. 

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.  

Over 50 RSPs are available on the NBI network™ to provide connections as of today. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently 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.