High-speed broadband to be made available soon to over 1,700 Athlone premises
More than 1,700 premises in Athlone and nearby townlands and villages in Westmeath and Roscommon will be able to order or pre-order broadband on the National Broadband Ireland network very shortly, according to the company.
National Broadband Ireland is the company delivering the "future-proofed, high-speed Fibre-to-the-Home network" under the National Broadband Plan, on behalf of the Government.
In a press statement issued today (Friday), it said approximately 12,000 premises in County Westmeath were included in the State's 'Intervention Area', which will see it deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools.
The National Broadband Plan has been described as the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, and Westmeath is due to receive €46m of Government investment under the plan.
There are also approximately 19,000 premises included in the rollout in Roscommon, and the county will receive €76m of State investment.
National Broadband Ireland said its crews had made "substantial progress in both counties" and premises will go live in Athlone, where 1,735 premises across County Westmeath and County Roscommon will be able to order or pre-order broadband on the National Broadband Ireland network in the coming months.
The National Broadband Ireland website is regularly updated to show estimated connection dates. Signing up to the National Broadband Ireland email notifications at https://nbi.ie/eoi/ is the easiest way to get the most up to date status of premises during the rollout and when premises will be ready for order.
Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: "We are delighted to announce that premises in Athlone will soon be able to order or pre-order broadband services through the National Broadband Ireland network. This will enable users to experience the life-changing benefits that high-speed broadband provides.
"We are confident that the rollout will continue to gather pace as our ability to move premises from the construction phase to the order phase ramps up.
"We are acutely aware that people want access to high-speed broadband and our goal is to deliver that as quickly as possible."
Under the National Broadband Plan, 559,000 premises nationwide are included in the Intervention Area, which was established by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to identify areas where commercial operators are not currently providing access to high-speed broadband or do not intend to.