Over 2,600 Kilkenny homes, businesses and farms near Castlecomer can now connect to fibre broadband on National Broadband Ireland network

Almost 16,900 premises in Co Kilkenny can avail of a high-speed connection today

National Broadband Ireland, the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the National Broadband Plan on behalf of the Government, has said that over 2,600 Kilkenny properties in its Castlecomer deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. The area covers the rural surrounds of Castlecomer, Ballyragget and Moneenroe.

19,000 premises in Co Kilkenny 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 Kilkenny will receive €72M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 2,616 Kilkenny premises in the Castlecomer deployment area that can join the National Broadband Ireland network. National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living near Castlecomer 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 Kilkenny and there is a total of 16,890   premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 5,265 connections made so far.

Network build works are also continuing across Kilkenny with build works in progress for over 500 premises around Ballynabola. 

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 2,600 Kilkenny premises around Castlecomer can now order high-speed broadband services through the National Broadband Ireland 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 16,900 homes, businesses and farms in Co Kilkenny can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the National Broadband Ireland network. This includes:

  • Over 2,000 premises in Borris
  • Over 2,700 in Thomastown
  • Over 1,700 in Johnstown
  • Over 3,600 surrounding Kilkenny city
  • Almost 2,700 near the Kilkenny-Tipperary border in the rural surrounds of Pilltown and Callan 
  • Over 2,600 premises near Aglish in the Waterford deployment area

We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Kilkenny 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 National Broadband Ireland 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 National Broadband Ireland network, visit NBI.ie/buy.

National Broadband Ireland contractors have been on the ground across the country and over 279,211 premises nationwide can order or pre-order broadband on the NBI network so far.

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 www.nbi.ie to receive regular notifications related to their own premises as works progresses 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 Kilkenny include the Connollys Pub, Muckalee Handball Club and Tullaghought Parish Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.