2,000 Wicklow homes, businesses and farms near Aughrim can now connect to fibre broadband on NBI™ network

Almost 11,000 premises in Co Wicklow 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 over 2,000 Wicklow properties in its Aughrim deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. The area covers the rural townlands and areas surrounding Aughrim, Tinahely, and Arklow. 

16,000 premises in Co Wicklow 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 Wicklow will receive €59M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 2,015 Wicklow premises in the Aughrim 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.

Network build works are also continuing across Wicklow with build works in progress for almost 700 premises along the Wicklow-Dublin county border in the Enniskerry deployment area, which are due to be connected in the coming months, by next spring. A further 1,500 premises near Glendalough are due to be connected to NBI’s high-speed fibre network by summer 2025. 

Works have already been completed in other parts of Wicklow and there is a total of 10,926 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 3,034 connections made so far. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at /eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up-to-date status for your premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.

NBI has now passed over 300,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with just over 100,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 33% 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.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 2,000 Wicklow premises in the Aughrim 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 11,000 homes, businesses and farms in Co Wicklow can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI™ network. This includes:

  • 2,000 premises near Aughrim,
  • over 1,800 near Baltinglass, 
  • over 1,400 near Blessington, 
  • almost 2,300 near Kilcoole, and 
  • almost 3,400 near Redcross 

“We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Wicklow 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 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 /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 Wicklow include the Wicklow County Campus, Dunlavin GAA Club and Brockagh Resource Centre. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.