An independent report which has measured speed test data matched to the National Broadband Plan intervention area, shows that median download speeds in NBP served areas in Ireland have increased significantly over the last 7 years.
The publication of the independent report by Ookla®, a global leader in connectivity intelligence and the company behind Speedtest and Downdetector, confirms that Ireland’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) has delivered a dramatic improvement in broadband performance.
The median download speeds go from 11.60 Mbps in 2019 to 156.99 Mbps by mid-2026, representing a 13.5 fold increase in broadband performance. The research also shows that median upload speeds have risen from 4.67 Mbps to 49.48 Mbps, while the broadband performance gap between rural and urban Ireland has narrowed from approximately 5:1 to 1.6:1.
Luke Kehoe, lead industry analyst at Ookla, said that for a country with one of Western Europe’s most dispersed rural populations, the results represent ‘a substantial shift’.
“What stands out in Ookla data is how sharply broadband performance changes once fibre arrives in rural Ireland. Median download speeds across the intervention area have risen more than thirteen-fold since 2019, while the gap with urban Ireland has narrowed from almost five to one to around 1.6 to one,” he said.
“The next question is how fully this infrastructure is adopted and translated into wider economic and social value.”
The final intervention area contains less than a quarter of the state’s premises but covers 96% of its landmass. Serving it required over 100,000km of fibre route, where fewer than six premises per kilometre were served. This made commercial deployment unviable and explains why two decades of market led rollout ended where the intervention area began.
AMBITIOUS PROJECT
With the National Broadband Plan now entering its final phase, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD said that the Government ‘remains committed to delivering universal high-speed connectivity and ensuring that every home, farm and business in Ireland can participate fully in the digital economy’.
“Ireland’s National Broadband Plan is one of the most ambitious digital infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the State. The independent findings published show that it is delivering real, measurable results for rural Ireland and helping to build a more connected, competitive and inclusive country,” he said.
