National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the new high speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), has announced that build works in County Carlow are now ‘well underway’. Outlining progress in this area, the company said that in Carlow more than 3,500 premises have been surveyed to date with network designs completed to deliver the new fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in the area by the end of this year. NBI crews have reportedly commenced initial works for the build in townlands across Carlow including Staplestown, Ridge, Moanduff, Ballygowan, Newgarden, Fennagh, Glenoge, Ballynunnery, Rathrush, Cloneen, Tinnaclash and Johnstown. These ‘make ready’ works are reportedly paving the way for the next stage of deploying fibre on poles/ducts, and include the erection of poles, unblocking of ducts, and the insertion of subduct into existing ducts, for the fibre to be installed.
In Carlow there are said to be a total of 8,158 premises in the Intervention Area (IA), including homes, farms, commercial businesses and schools, and NBI notes this equates to 29% of all premises in the county. Under the NBP Carlow will see an investment of EUR32 million (USD38 million) in the new high speed fibre network. Meanwhile, NBI is reportedly working closely with retail service providers with a view to connecting the first homes in Carlow before the end of 2021.
Speaking on the progress being made with the overall network rollout, NBI’s CEO Peter Hendrick was cited as saying: ‘Our teams on the ground have made substantial progress since we first commenced with surveying and design works last year. As the country reopens and restrictions are lifted, we are confident that this will further assist us as we continue to deliver the new high speed broadband network under the NBP.’