NBI increases minimum speeds for the National Broadband Plan to 500Mb/s
The company delivering the National Broadband Plan (NBP) on behalf of the Irish government has announced that the minimum download speed for its standard products will increase from 150Mb/s to 500Mb/s.
National Broadband Ireland (NBI) stated that both business and residential users can avail of 1Gb/s product via Internet service providers once the network is live.
When NBI signed contracts with the government in November last year, the commitment was to provide 150Mb/s to every person and business in the Intervention Area (IA) without access to high-speed broadband.
In a bid to end the rural/urban digital divide, NBI continually benchmarks its products with those available in urban areas to ensure that the NBP will provide equal access and opportunities. Once completed, the new network will connect 1.1 million people.
Connecting circa 537,000 premises where commercial operators do not currently provide high-speed broadband, NBI, as a wholesale provider, will make the new fibre-to-the-home technology available to all retail service providers operating in the Intervention Area. With businesses able to access packages in excess of 1Gbps when the network has its first connections later this year, the National Broadband Plan is expected to play a key role in rejuvenating the potential for enterprise and employment in rural Ireland.
“In undertaking the National Broadband Plan, the Irish government is revolutionising the opportunities for people in rural Ireland, who will have the ability to connect to local and global opportunity for the first time with high-speed broadband,” said NBI executive chairman, David McCourt.
“Since the global Covid-19 pandemic struck in Ireland over six months ago, many people’s lives have changed significantly, and we are much more reliant on digital connectivity than ever before. Today’s announcement to increase our minimum speeds empowers every person, every school, every farm and every business in the Intervention Area to gain access to truly world-leading speeds and we are incredibly proud to be playing our part in bringing this to rural Ireland.”
In the six months since work commenced, NBI has mobilised its team to work across 17 counties nationwide with survey work completed for over 63,000 premises. Build work for the new fibre network is due to commence in parts of Cork and Cavan by the end of this month, and shortly after that, in townlands in Galway.
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