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 2,000 Offaly premises in its Tullamore deployment area can now avail of a high-speed fibre broadband connection. The includes the rural surrounds and townlands of Tullamore, Geashill and Durrow.

A total of 13,000 premises in Co Offaly 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 Offaly will receive €48m of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan.

There are 2,019 Offaly premises in the Tullamore 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 Offaly, including the Moate deployment area near Clara and the Roscrea deployment area near Shinrone. There is a total of 7,146 premises that can now pre-order or order high-speed, reliable broadband across the county with 2,003 connections made so far.

Network build works are also continuing across Offaly with build works in progress for almost 1,900 premises near the Birr deployment area, due to be connected by the end of the year. Signing up to the NBI email notifications at https://nbi.ie/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.

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TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We are delighted to announce that 2,000 Offaly premises in the Tullamore 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, over 7,100 homes, businesses and farms in Co Offaly can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI network™. This includes the rural surrounds of Clara and Shinrone. We are working hard on the ground to progress other areas of the county through engineering survey, design and construction phases. We are encouraging Offaly 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% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons and surpasses 50% 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.  

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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 Offaly include Rosfaraghan Business Park, Kilclonfert Community Centre CLG and Coolderry Community Hall. Primary schools in the Intervention Area are also now connected for educational access as part of the NBP.