Carrigaline customers to get online in January under National Broadband Plan

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan confirmed the first fibre-to-the-home connections are expected next month in Carrigaline.

Homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas around Carrigaline can finally get online from January as the Cork town becomes the first connected under the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan confirmed the first fibre-to-the-home connections are expected next month in Carrigaline, where they will be subject to technical testing and validation prior to a wider release of the area.

“I am advised that from the end of January retailers will be able to resell the service and householders in these areas will be able to order high-speed broadband provided via the NBI network,” he said.

NBI, National Broadband Ireland, is the commercial entity that won the contract to implement the NBP in a €3bn deal, after a long and protracted process to get it over the line.

The plan aims to provide broadband to more than 540,000 homes and businesses in the country that lack coverage.

Carrigaline happens to be in the constituency of three senior government figures - Taoiseach Micheál Martin, public expenditure minister Michael McGrath, and foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney.

Under the NBP, premises deemed to be in an ‘amber’ area will be provided with high-speed broadband.

According to Mr Ryan, so-called ‘blue’ areas are not included in the state intervention area as commercial operators are already providing high-speed broadband or have indicated future plans to do so.

Some 71% of homes and businesses in Cork, or 194,000, do not need any intervention.

In Kerry, 70% or 63,000 of homes and businesses have coverage, while in Limerick the figure is 77,000 or 78%

Tipperary has 65%, or 54,000 homes and businesses with coverage, with Waterford on 76% or 47,500 premises, while Clare is on 67% coverage or just over 46,500.

The Department of Communications defines high-speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.

Almost 122,000 premises across 25 counties have been surveyed under the NBP, which is ahead of the full-year survey target of 120,000 projected by the company, Mr Ryan said.

In Cork, areas around without broadband in Douglas, Ballyphehane, Glasheen, and Mahon will come after Carrigaline.