Political Representatives

 The Project Agreement between NBI and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) to build fibre-based broadband services in the State Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan envisages a 7-year build programme, 2020 to 2026 inclusive.

NBI is tasked with deploying high-speed fibre technology across all 26 counties, with all counties expecting to experience some level of Survey, Design, Build and Connection work simultaneously.

There has never been a national project undertaken with this level of equity across the country.

By August 2023 NBI was actively working across 168 (74%) Deployment Areas (DAs). 55 (24%) of DAs are fully complete with live fibre services available to residents.

The progress in the programme phases are as follows:

Engineering Surveys Complete: 77%

Detailed Network Designs Complete: 73%

Volume of Build Works Commenced: 60%

Volume of Premises Available for Order/Pre-Order: 33%

A full list of Retail Service Providers selling services on the NBI network is available here: /where-can-i-buy.

We would encourage people building a new property to engage with the Eircode process as early as they can. Once the Eircode is assigned the resident should notify the Broadband Officer in the relevant Local Authority.

It is important to note that National Broadband Ireland is under contract with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) to build high-speed broadband infrastructure in areas that are not currently served, or planned to be served, through commercial investment by private operators.

NBI does not select the properties or areas to be served as part of the fibre deployment plan. The scope of the Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan is determined by DECC. NBI has no authority to independently add premises not pre-approved for service by DECC.

DECC advises that commercial operators have indicated their plans to supply Gigabit services to all premises in the BLUE area of the NBP Map by 2026.
This map can be searched at www.broadband.gov.ie

This is one of the most frequently asked questions from political representatives and members of the public of NBI.
The Intervention Area under the National Broadband Plan is not an exclusion zone for private operators. There is nothing in the contract between NBI and the Irish Government that prevents a private operator from extending their existing infrastructure 200, 300 metres or 500, 700 metres further along a road to reach additional premises.

Can existing networks be extended? Yes. However, any question of an extension of existing infrastructure that is owned by other operators is not a matter for NBI, it’s a matter for the owner/operator of the existing infrastructure.

NBI is not extending from existing services. NBI is building an independent standalone network for the State to serve premises that will not be served by private operators.

NBI’s employees and those of our contractors were exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic just like any other sector. The various waves of the pandemic restricted our ability to deploy crews to the extent we had planned during the initial year of our build programme. The project was also not helped by the fact that places where workers would normally avail of personal hygiene services and rest-stops were closed during the restrictions.

As an example, in January 2022, one contractor had 60% of staff out, either with COVID-19 or in isolation.

NBI is confident that the project can still be delivered within the timeframe agreed with government.

The contract for the National Broadband Plan largely envisages a fixed-fibre service to deliver high-speed connectivity to the over 560,000 premises in the Intervention Area.

The contract allows for 1-2% in the form of ‘alternative technology’ but NBI envisages this will be for premises that are extremely difficult or expensive to reach.

It is the position of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) that where any ‘alternative’ is considered; it must be able to deliver the same capacity for end-users. A core principle of the NBP is that every citizen should be entitled to expect the same level of service, regardless of location.

NBI is using various third-party infrastructure including Eir/Openeir and enet, leasing for 25 years over the lifetime of the project and contract. NBI has regular contact and a strong working relationship with both providers.

The EMR (Eir Make Ready) programme is vital to our fibre deployment programme. Eir is involved in pole replacement, duct remediation and the clearance of blockages to enable the NBI fibre build.

NBI is also working with 31 Local Authorities across Ireland as part of our deployment plan. It took time to put in place an agreed national structure around licensing with these local authorities and we are pleased to say, in the main, this is working well. The structure was agreed in May 2021 and was an essential component in bringing about certainty around how NBI would engage with local authorities and where and when we could deploy our technology under the build programme.

Where necessary and appropriate NBI engages with ESB Networks to discuss infrastructure access arrangements.

NBI has a growing sense of confidence in the build pipeline we have created, and it remains our ambition to complete the build programme within the original seven-year agreement. In the latter years of the build programme it may be possible to complete some areas ahead of time, however,to do so would require additional capacity in the Eir Make Ready (EMR) programme, whether undertaken by Eir or by NBI through a fit for purpose self-install product.

If NBI is to accelerate the programme, and do so effectively, there are many moving parts that would all be necessary to move forward together.

To this end, NBI remains in active discussion with eir, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) and the telecoms regulator, ComReg.

There are many protections for the State within the Project Agreement. These include mechanisms to ensure value for money is achieved and that payment of subsidy is only made when detailed milestone achievement criteria are fulfilled. There are also prescriptive requirements to ensure that the standard of service being provided by NBI is best in class.

There are also provisions which ensure alignment between NBI’s and the State’s interests; this means that the better NBI performs, whether by saving costs or increasing revenue, the State benefits through clawback mechanisms.

NBI is adopting a best-in-class approach to corporate governance and the Minister has an appointee on the Board, as well as on the Audit & Risk and Remuneration Committees of NBII and NBID.

€2.1Bn is the baseline amount of subsidy available to the National Broadband Plan from the State. There is a further €500M available, and provided for within the contract, in the event that certain evidenced circumstances occur, resulting in additional costs to the project.

It is standard in construction projects – from doing building work on one’s house to building motorways – to create a contingency budget like this, to be spent only in certain specific circumstances.

Up to 30^th June 2023, NBI had received subsidy totalling €453m.