1,400 more homes ready to connect to high speed broadband network

Almost 1,400 premises in the Kingscourt Deployment area can now avail of high-speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan. This includes rural surrounds and townlands of Nobber, Ardagh and Kilmainham.

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 almost 1,400 Meath premises in its Kingscourt deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection.

Some 21,000 premises in Meath 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 Meath will receive €76m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 1,390 Meath premises in the Kingscourt 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.

Works have already been completed in other parts of Meath, including the rural surrounds of Kells and Navan. There is a total of 17,082 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 5,366 connections made so far.

Network build works are also continuing across Meath with build works in progress for over 2,400 premises near the Dunshaughlin deployment area, due to be connected by the end of the year.

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that 1,400 Meath premises in the Kingscourt 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 17,100 homes, businesses and farms in Co Meath can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI network™. This includes the Navan deployment area and the Carnaross deployment area near Kells. We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Meath residents to visit the NBI website to check their Eircode and sign up for updates.

NBI has now passed over 386,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 135,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 35 per cent is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 50 per cent in areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months.

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.

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.

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.

An example of some of the locations of Broadband Connection Points in Meath include Carnaross Mart, Syddan Gaelic Football Club and Meath GAA Centre of Excellence. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.