Fibre broadband for 7,500 Donegal homes and businesses ahead of schedule

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) has announced that almost 7,500 Donegal homes, farms and businesses in the rural surrounds of Ballyshannon, Buncrana, Carndonagh and Ardara deployment areas are being moved to an earlier completion date in 2025 than had been originally scheduled.

The number includes over 2,800 premises in Donegal that have been brought from 2026 into NBI’s schedule of works for this year. The 7,500 homes and businesses included in this move will be able to avail of a connection to NBI’s network up to seven months sooner than previously anticipated.

The move underpins NBI’s commitment to accelerating the rollout wherever possible, ensuring that homes, farms, and businesses across rural Ireland can avail of fast and reliable internet access sooner. As the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, Donegal will receive €128M of Government investment under the National Broadband Plan with just under 34,000 homes, farms and businesses across the county included in NBI’s rollout.

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NBI has made high-speed fibre broadband available to 16,060 premises in Donegal, with 3,411 premises already connected to the NBI network through one of over 70 participating broadband providers.

The take-up of NBI’s services continues to outpace expectations. Areas where the network has been live for over 18 months are reporting take-up rates exceeding 50%, far above international benchmarks. Nationally, over 4,500 new premises are connecting to the network each month.

Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland, said: “We're delighted to announce that almost 7,500 Donegal premises in rural areas around Ballyshannon, Buncrana, Carndonagh and Ardara are moving to an earlier anticipated completion date, with approximately 2,800 of these homes and businesses moving forward from 2026, with the remaining being delivered sooner than previously expected in 2025.

"The huge progress that was made on the rollout in 2024 means we can deliver high-speed broadband to more homes and businesses earlier this year and leaves us in a strong position to complete our rollout on time and on budget. With just two years remaining, we’re working tirelessly to ensure we meet our commitments and provide communities with the connectivity they deserve.

“With over 70 different internet providers offering broadband services on the NBI™ network and with January typically being switching season, there is certainly merit in shopping around to see what options are available. To see the retail broadband providers that are currently licensed to sell on the NBI™ network, visit NBI.ie/buy”.

As a wholesale network operator, NBI does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather 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 RSPs operating in the Intervention Area.