Over 94,000premises can now pre-order high speed fibre broadband from an NBI retail partner

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high-speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), is announcing that it has reached 20,000 connections to its network. Communications and Broadband Spokesperson for Sinn Féin, Ruairí Ó Murchú, TD, NBI Chief Commercial Officer, Joe Lavin and Declan Campbell, Managing Director of Louth retail broadband provider, Digiweb marked the milestone with local farm family, Cathrina and Francis Bellew of Monasterboice, Co. Louth, who recently connected to the network.

A total of 20,512* premises – including homes, farms, businesses, and community facilities – are now connected to NBI’s network, meaning that these premises now have guaranteed access to minimum broadband speeds of 500Mb. More than 94,000* premises are now in a position to place an order or pre-order for service with one of the retail service providers registered on the NBI network.

NBI’s most recent progress update shows strong momentum in the roll-out across all 26 counties, with take-up rates of over 30% already in Deployment Areas which have been live for a period of six months or more.

NBI Chief Commercial Officer, Joe Lavin said: “20,000 connections is a significant milestone for the rollout and one that we’re continuing to build upon, as our ability to move premises from the construction phase to the order phase ramps up. Ultimately, we will connect 560,000 homes, farms, businesses, and schools or over 1.1 million people. Customers like the Bellews have experienced the life-changing difference made by guaranteed minimum speeds of 500 megabytes per second. We look forward to even more Irish households benefiting from the limitless possibilities created by becoming one of the most connected countries in Europe.”

Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Communications and Broadband, Ruairí Ó Murchú said: “We all know the absolute necessity of high-speed broadband. This marks an important milestone and is hopefully a sign of forward momentum in the rollout so that more homes and businesses can look forward to operating online efficiently with access to fit-for-purpose broadband. While we wish we were further along, delivery is gathering pace, but there is a requirement on the Government and NBI’s infrastructure partners to ensure every effort is made to achieve acceleration.”

Declan Campbell, Managing Director of retail broadband provider Digiweb said: “We are delighted to be bringing NBI fibre to homes and businesses, delivering high-speed broadband with consistent coverage at a reasonable price. We pride ourselves on customer service and the positive feedback we are receiving is a sure sign our partnership with NBI is delivering broadband access to our customers in the East which is second-to-none.”

Cathrina Bellew, a recent customer of Digiweb in Louth said: “The new connection has made a huge difference to our lives. We’re a farming family and my husband uses cameras for security on the farm and to manage livestock. He can now monitor cows calving without having to leave the house. Prior to this, the wireless system was so unreliable; he couldn’t trust it and would often leave in the middle of the night to drive down to the farm to check the animals. So that’s been a hugh advantage in terms of saving time and peace of mind.”

“Our whole family has benefitted from a reliable high-speed broadband connection”, Cathrina added. “I help manage all the admin that comes with running a farm and good internet has made my life so much easier. Our daughter is a teacher and uses the internet to plan for the week ahead; this new connection is a world apart from the frustrating experience she had prior to connection. There’s also no issue with people being online at the same time which is a huge plus for our family. I can’t speak highly enough of the service we received from Digiweb and the KN team; they were fantastic and the whole process was seamless.”

*data correct as of 5/10/22

Photo Caption: Ruairí Ó Murchú TD, Sinn Fein, Cathrina and Francis Bellew, Declan Campbell, Managing Director, Digiweb and Joe Lavin, Chief Commercial Officer, NBI at the Bellew Family farm in Louth as NBI marked reaching 20,000 connections to its network. Photo: David Norton