National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for delivering the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced in its end-of-the-year report that the project is on time and on budget, with 216,898 premises covered by the network ready to connect to high-speed broadband. The company surpassed 200,000 homes, farms, and businesses across the country in November 2023, as reported by TelecomTalk.
Also Read: National Broadband Ireland Network Passes 200,000 Premises Milestone
NBI Surpasses Targets
This means the target of 185,000 premises by the end of the current contract year in January 2024 was surpassed, with over 68,000 (68,765) premises connected to the NBI network, the company said. NBI also reported take-up rates approaching 50 percent in areas where the network has been live for more than 18 months.
Commenting on the milestone, National Broadband Ireland said, "NBI is pleased to report that at the end of our most recent contractual year, which concluded on January 31, 2024, we had surpassed our target to pass 185,000 premises with our new national high-speed fiber network. Almost 217,000 premises were ready to connect at the end of January, with over 68,000 already connected."
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Expansion to Offshore Islands
The company also announced delivering its target to connect 672 schools and 283 Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) in community locations in every county across the country.
NBI also reported rollout progress to 27 offshore islands, with its infrastructure already live on 10 islands, surveying works complete on 7 islands, surveying works commenced on 3 islands at the end of last year, and surveying works pending for 7 islands.
