Our Story
We are designing, building and operating the new high-speed fibre broadband network for rural Ireland to ensure that every farm, business and home has access to high-speed broadband, no matter what part of the country they are. Our team brings together some of the most talented individuals from Ireland and abroad, each with the deep knowledge and experience to deliver a project of this scale.
What’s involved
96%
of Ireland’s land mass covered
146,000km
fibre to premises
564,000+
homes, farms, schools and businesses connected
Up to 1,800
jobs created
We were established by Granahan McCourt, an international investor in technology, media and telecommunications. For over 30 years, Granahan McCourt has partnered with governments, corporations and communities to connect people through leading broadband infrastructure in areas of the world which are underserved by technology. Instead of being left behind by the modern world, these communities and businesses have gained unlimited opportunity to the world. Now it’s Ireland’s turn to shine through equal access to local, national and global opportunities.
At NBI we have brought together world-class experts in telecommunications with unparalleled experience to take on the most ambitious infrastructure challenge of our time in this country. Our partners include KN Group, Secto, Gaeltec and Actavo. Nokia is providing all the active equipment for the project while Indigo is our network design partner. We are also working with infrastructure owners such as openeir (pole and ducts network) and ESB.
We are so happy to be spearheading efforts to reverse rural depopulation, bringing life and work back into sleepy towns and villages, to contribute to the social and economic development of rural Ireland, which is integral to the wellbeing of the entire nation and to the transformative effect that high-speed broadband will have on allowing people to pursue their careers without the need to relocate, as well as offering the potential to attract new people and businesses to rural locations. We look forward to being on this journey with you for the long-term and managing this new national broadband network for the next 25 years.
DELIVERING THE NATIONAL
BROADBAND PLAN
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Irish government’s initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. It is the largest ever telecommunications project undertaken by the Irish State and recognised as one of the biggest and most ambitious telecoms infrastructure projects of its kind globally.
Taking on the challenge of delivering the National Broadband Plan, our team will be deploying fibre on approximately 1.5 million poles, many of them new, over 15,000km of underground ducts. We will use up to 142,000km of new fibre cable, and will run along almost 100,000km of the road network. We said it was big!
The network will be designed, built and operated by us, using a combination of State subsidy and commercial investment. It will make its services available to all of the rollout area, which accounts for 23% of the population in about approximately 564,000 homes, farms, schools and businesses. This project will radically change the broadband landscape across the country to ensure that every farm, business and home has access to high-speed broadband, no matter where they are located.
Once completed, all parts of Ireland will have access to a modern and reliable broadband network, capable of supporting the communications, information, education and entertainment requirements of current and future generations. Your future is in our hands and we aim to empower every individual, community and organisation with equal access to local and global opportunities. We are creating a Limitless Ireland, the rest is up to you.
WHAT ARE WE DELIVERING
- A high-speed fibre and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in almost 564,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 672 schools. Equal Internet access will enable equal opportunities for everyone, no matter where they live, work or study.
- The largest telecommunications project ever undertaken by the Government of Ireland, and indeed the largest of its kind in Europe.
- Around 146,000 kilometres of fibre to connect over half a million homes, stretching across 96% of Ireland’s landmass.
- Up to 1,800 of the best and brightest minds will be working on the project at its peak.
- We will provide a range of wholesale services for broadband providers in the residential and business markets, so that broadband consumers like you can enjoy a wider variety of choice when it comes to broadband retail providers.
