Over 18,300 premises in Co Kilkenny can avail of a high-speed connection today 

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 over 18,300 Kilkenny homes, businesses and farms can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection, with over 7,000 premises already connected to NBI’s network. 

19,000 premises in Co Kilkenny 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 Kilkenny will receive €72m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan. 

National Broadband Ireland is calling on people living in Co Kilkenny to visit nbi.ie/map/ and enter their Eircode to see if they are ready to connect. 

There is a total of 18,324 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across Kilkenny with 7,186 connections made so far. This includes the rural communities surrounding Castlecomer, Kilkenny City and Mullinavat. 

NBI has now passed over 350,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland to high-speed broadband with over 122,000 now connected. The average take-up rate of 34% nationally is well ahead of projections and international comparisons, and surpasses 50% in areas of the country where the network has been live for at least 18 months. 

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that over 7,000 Kilkenny premises have connected to NBI’s network. This milestone demonstrates the strong demand for high-speed broadband services in rural areas.  

“Overall, 18,300 homes, businesses and farms in Co Kilkenny can now avail of high-speed fibre broadband on our network which is now live across most of the county. We’re calling on those living in rural parts of Kilkenny to visit nbi.ie and check their Eircode to place an order.” 

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 71 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. 

The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at /eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.   

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 Kilkenny include Connolly’s Pub, Muckalee Handball Club and Tullaghought Parish Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.