• Report finds that National Broadband Plan has resulted in numerous direct and indirect benefits in the Intervention Area
  • Notes excellent take-up of high-speed broadband on NBI Network

National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), today welcomed the positive findings in EY’s independent evaluation of the NBP.

Offering a detailed and comprehensive review of the NBP rollout to date, the report found that the project represents a significant step in Ireland’s journey towards bridging the digital divide by providing location-agnostic, ubiquitous access to high-speed broadband. The evaluation found that much progress has been made in delivering the programme, and that it has resulted in numerous direct and indirect benefits in the Intervention Area (IA), such as improved competition, increased employment and enterprise productivity, and has also resulted in higher quality of life for households in the rollout area.

Commenting on the report, Peter Hendrick, CEO of National Broadband Ireland, stated, “The EY report rightly highlights the positive impact of the NBP. A huge amount of credit must go to the Government for its ambition in developing the plan. Their blueprint coupled with NBI’s execution provides a model for other countries to follow, as Ireland will soon become the most connected country in Europe.”

Fibre broadband take-up
The report highlights excellent performance in terms of network build and take-up of services on the NBI Network, with the latter metric being ahead of original targets. The report states, “The NBP has connected 65,121 premises by the end of 2023, exceeding the cumulative bid target of 53,852.” Importantly, the report specifically signals how this take-up rate evolves of over time, “Of the premises passed in 2021, 40.8% have been connected by the end of 2023.”

Specifically speaking on take-up, Mr Hendrick commented: “Many countries in Europe have faced challenges in terms of take-up of high-speed, fibre broadband services. At NBI, we are delighted to say that we are bucking that trend, with take-up rates above 50% in areas where our network has been live for longer. Our average take-up rates are well ahead of projections, as well as international comparisons.”

NBI hopes to increase take-up figures to more than 80% over time. The company’s emphasis on customer satisfaction and delivering a quality broadband infrastructure is seen as a key driver for those targets, something that has being underlined in the report. “NBII has achieved high levels of service quality for connected premises, delivering broadband speed and reliability in the IA that is equivalent to, and often surpassing, the levels experienced in commercial areas.” The report goes on to say, “Download speeds have achieved 100.1% of anticipated levels based on sold packages, averaging 681.9 Mbps, while upload speeds have reached 104.7% at 71.4 Mbps.”

Peter Hendrick concluded: “As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since electrification, NBI are proud to play a key role in expanding the rollout of futureproofed, high-speed broadband to every premises in the country and are equally proud to be delivering the country’s National Broadband Plan on schedule, on budget, and in line with policy objectives.”

The Irish State has committed to commissioning three independently conducted evaluations, with the associated reports submitted to the European Commission at various stages of the programme. This Interim Evaluation Report represents the first of these evaluations; with data provided by Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), being correct to 31st December 2023. The report can be found here