First Roscommon premises connected under National Broadband Plan
National Broadband Ireland, the company delivering high-speed fibre broadband under the Government's National Broadband Plan, has announced that the first premises in County Roscommon have been successfully connected.
Up to 19,185 premises in the county are included in the State's intervention area, which will see National Broadband Ireland (NBI) deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms and schools.
Roscommon is to receive €76 million of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan, which has been described as the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification.
As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users. Instead 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 service providers operating in the intervention area.
Some 50 service providers have already signed up to sell services on the NBI network and 34 are certified as ready to start providing connections immediately. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the NBI network, visit: NBI.ie/buy
Commenting on the connection of the first Roscommon premises under the plan, Peter Hendrick, CEO of National Broadband Ireland, said it was "delighted to be able to say that we have now commenced our first connections in county Roscommon, which will enable users to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides.
"This is a key milestone for this intervention area," he added.
"As an increasing number of homes and businesses are being connected, we are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as we look to connect thousands more homes and businesses.
"We are acutely aware that people want access to high-speed broadband and our goal is to deliver that as quickly as possible."
Local TD Denis Naughten also welcomed the milestone of the first connected premises in Roscommon.
"This is a key development for the digital footprint of the county," said Deputy Naughten.
"The National Broadband Plan is a vital project to rural Ireland, and the first connection to the National Broadband Ireland network is a important step towards ensuring that communities, homes, schools and businesses in county Roscommon and across rural Ireland have access to high-speed broadband."
John Freeman, Roscommon County Council's broadband officer said many people in the county would have encountered slow or broken internet connections up to now, but the current connection process "will make that a thing of the past."
One of the first customers to be connected to the National Broadband Ireland network, Gerry Gordon of Autopia Ltd, in Mount Prospect, Roscommon, said: "The new connection to high-speed fibre broadband under the National Broadband Plan is going to bring incredible benefits to our home and our business. We're already seeing a huge difference."
NBI contractors have been on the ground since January 2020 surveying townlands across the county in preparation for the fibre network roll-out.
As part of the process, Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) have been put in place at sports clubs, community centres and tourist sites in order to provide free public access to high-speed internet in the roll-out area.
Some of the locations in Roscommon where Broadband Connection Points are in place include: Kiltoom Parish Hall, Cam Community Centre, Tulsk Digi Hub, Dangan Community Centre, and Creeve Community Centre.
Primary schools in the area are also being connected for educational access as part of the National Broadband Plan.