Cork Broadband Rollout Reaches Major Milestone as 44,000 Premises Can Now Access High-Speed Internet

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) has announced that over 44,000 homes, businesses and farms across Cork can now avail of high-speed fibre broadband, marking a significant milestone in the county's digital infrastructure development.

The company, which is delivering the new Fibre-to-the-Home network under the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP), also revealed that construction is currently underway to connect an additional 13,700 premises in the Ballingeary, Charleville, Dunmanway and Grenagh deployment areas.

This expansion includes almost 900 premises in the Ballingeary area covering the rural surrounds of Inchigeelagh and Ballingeary; over 2,100 premises in the Charleville area including Buttevant and Dromina; nearly 4,200 premises in Dunmanway including Drinagh; and over 6,500 premises in the Grenagh area covering Blarney and Whitechurch rural surrounds.

The National Broadband Plan represents a substantial investment in rural Ireland, with Cork county receiving €314 million of Government funding. In total, 82,000 premises in Cork are included in the State's Intervention Area, which will receive minimum internet speeds of 500 megabits per second.

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer of National Broadband Ireland Deployment, said:

"Our teams are working on the ground all over the country and considerable progress has been made on the developments in Cork. High-speed fibre broadband is now available to order for over 44,000 homes, farms and businesses, including almost 4,800 premises near Carrigaline, almost 4,100 near Kanturk and over 9,500 near Midleton."

Of the 44,003 premises that can now order or pre-order the service across the county, 13,914 are already connected to the network. Works have been completed in several parts of Cork, including the rural surrounds of Carrigaline, Kanturk and Midleton.

Nationally, NBI has passed over 361,000 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland with more than 125,000 of these now connected to high-speed broadband. The average take-up rate of 35% is ahead of projections and international comparisons, surpassing 50% in areas where the network has been live for 18 months.

As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell broadband directly to consumers but enables services through Retail Service Providers (RSPs). Currently, 72 RSPs have signed up to sell services on the NBI network, with 68 certified as ready to provide connections.

Cork residents can check their eligibility and expected connection dates by entering their Eircode on the NBI website at nbi.ie/map/. The company encourages people to sign up for email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ to receive updates on the progress in their area.

In advance of the full fibre rollout, 955 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) have been established nationwide, providing free public access to high-speed internet in rural communities. Several BCPs are already operational in Cork, including The Old Schoolhouse, Castletownkenneigh Community Centre and Laharn Heritage Centre.

The remaining premises in the Ballingeary, Charleville, Dunmanway and Grenagh areas currently under construction are due to be connected by the end of next year, further expanding Cork's digital connectivity.