Almost 32,000 farms now able to avail of a high-speed fibre connection

More than 12,000 farms have now been connected to high-speed fibre broadband through National Broadband Ireland’s (NBI) rollout of the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

The number of farms that have connected to NBI’s high-speed fibre network has more than doubled in the last 12 months with an additional 6,000 farms connected in that time. NBI has passed almost 32,000 farms, with the rollout moving on schedule and on budget.

Over 65,000 farms will be connected to high-speed fibre broadband on National Broadband Ireland’s fibre broadband network. NBI recently announced it has passed over 50 percent of the premises included in its rollout with 289,438 homes, farms and businesses across the country now able to access high-speed fibre broadband.

Take-up of broadband on the NBI™ Network continues to be strong with 95,526 premises connected across the country.

‘UNPRECEDENTED RATE’ OF UPTAKE

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “Access to high-speed fibre broadband is no longer something that’s nice to have for farms; it is an essential utility that is critical for their efficiency, sustainability and profitability. We can see that with the unprecedented rate that farmers are connecting to our network.

“Beyond the practical benefits, high-speed broadband is bridging the digital divide for rural communities. Farm families can now enjoy the same entertainment, work-from-home opportunities, and educational resources as their urban counterparts.

“We’d encourage farmers and everyone living in rural Ireland to visit the NBI website and check their Eircode to see if they can connect today.”

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.

NBI’s website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. 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.