High-speed broadband connectivity on the way for almost 1,600 Louth homes, farms and businesses near Ardee as fibre rollout advances 

Over 5,200 homes, businesses and farms in Louth can connect today  

 National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company delivering the new future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) today announced that construction is underway to deliver high-speed broadband to almost 1,600 homes, farms and businesses in the Ardee deployment area in Co Louth. This includes the rural townlands of Ardee, Stabannan and Collon.  

9,000 premises in Co Louth 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 Louth will receive €33m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.  

With survey and design phases now complete, high-speed fibre cabling is now being installed for 1,566 Louth premises in the Ardee deployment area, with connections to services expected to be available by the end of next year. 

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated with estimated dates for when premises will be ready to order a connection. The easiest way to stay informed is by signing up for NBI email alerts at nbi.ie/eoi/. 

Works have already been completed in other parts of Louth, including the rural surrounds of Dundalk and Drogheda. There is a total of 5,245 premises that can now order or pre-order high-speed, reliable broadband, with 2,553 premises already connected to the network. NBI is encouraging residents to visit nbi.ie/map and enter their Eircode to check if their premises is ready to connect. 

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland Deployment said: “Our teams are making excellent progress in Co Louth, and we’re pleased to see fibre build works underway in the Ardee deployment area. 

“Our overarching goal is to improve digital connectivity across the country. With minimum internet speed of 500 megabites per second, this new Fibre-to-the-Home network will play a pivotal role in sustaining local businesses and communities.”  

 National Rollout Progress 

NBI has now passed over 386,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with just over 135,000 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.  

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. 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/.  

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 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.  

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 Louth include Killanny GAA Club, Stephenstown Pond Nature Park and Clogherhead Pier. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.