National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

redunited

Hi all, finally gone live on the NBI website, Pre Order Now available.

I've been checking options, but companies like Virgin, etc aren't showing the new information I cannot connect. I can sign up to Sky and Eir on 1GB fiber but id like to look at all options.

Anyone know how long it takes for NBI information to be fully updated for all companies?

Thanks

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122671009#Comment_122671009

It's early days so retail providers databases could take time to update.

That being said some providers may not be available in your location. There are interconnect and backhaul costs at each PoP and some retail providers may decide not to connect at this time. Probably more applicable to the smaller providers.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122671009#Comment_122671009

You sure your on NBI and not Eir fibre ? .....

Happy_Harry

I am in the stage where I can pre-order. The only problem being that the fibre stops about 200m from our house so there will need to be some additional poles erected or so. Does it matter who you pre-order with if the connection isn't as straightforward as pulling a cable through a duct into the house ?

Should I just go with whomever has the best product (price/customer service etc) or would I be better off with the likes of Eir to get me going ?

redunited

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122671902#Comment_122671902

No, deffo NBI. Went live yesterday so still fairly new on their database id say.

redunited

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122672738#Comment_122672738

From what I have read on here it seems NBI does all the work, the likes of Eir, etc are just the billing company.

One thing about Eir I noticed, they won't allow me the 500MB line, only the 1 GB line!

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122672897#Comment_122672897

They may be trying to no undermine their own product . No idea pure guess ?...

shmeee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122672738#Comment_122672738

I was similar , it's not like Eir or Sky come out to do the pole install. It's KN Cricet and whoever else is contracted, the crowd doing the poles were contracted in by NBI. KN Cricet then ran the cable about 500m's. So up to you after that.

Woodie40

it was seven months later from cabling on poles to connection.

Happy_Harry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122673752#Comment_122673752

Thanks for the expectation setting 🙂 Thankfully I have starlink so I am not desperate.

The Cush

Budget 2025: At least €400 million to accelerate the delivery of the National Broadband Plan, one of
the largest infrastructure projects in the State, and the largest within rural Ireland;

Reimbursed to date: To 31st August 2024, NBI had received subsidy totalling €867m which partly reimburses “Permitted Expenditure” incurred.

Permitted Expenditure to date: €996m

Premises Passed: 300,180 (53% of total premises)

Premises Connected: 98,653 (33% of passed premises)

Zith

Pre-order for my area available today. Surprising considering the black box went up outside the house just the week before last. Newbridge DA in East Galway. Was listed as due H2 25. Almost time to ditch the Nanobeams!

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122662601#Comment_122662601

Why would Sky be less reliable than any other provider?

At the end of the day, they are all using the same lines, basically they only bill you. Surely no reason Sky wouldn't be as steady as say Vodafone?

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122685392#Comment_122685392

They're using the same lines but not the same backhaul, so there can be differences.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122685420#Comment_122685420

I have no idea what that means, I go off and Google it.

bullet93

Just got my NBI broadband installed in Donegal on Friday. Couldn't praise the KN employee any higher. Walked me through what he was going to do before he started. Took the cable to the gable of the house and ran the line under the spouting and hid it very well and brought it into the house exactly where I wanted it to go.

I went with Eir as I rely heavily on my house phone as the phone signal is non existent where I live. Think the deal was 50euro a month with unlimited calls on the house phone. (EirTv is also included which is decent) They only had the 1gb option available to order. After running some speed tests over the weekend on my phone and laptop over wifi I got speeds ranging from 300-400mbps. Night and day difference from the 2mbps we were getting but still nowhere near the 1gb that is advertised on some websites. (not complaining with my speed just letting people know!) Overall a good experience. I hope the rest of you that are waiting are as happy as I am.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693984#Comment_122693984

To get the full gigabit speed using the equipment provided by Eir, you'd need to use a wired connection. Most people who are only using Wi-Fi devices would get by just fine on the 500 Mb package, but I know that ISPs tend to push deals on the 1 Gb more often.

shmeee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693984#Comment_122693984

Over WiFi, that's all you may hit. As so many factors in play, you could be on 2.4ghz band when connected also, which is lesser speeds over a longer range. 5ghz band will give you the higher speeds over a shorter WiFi range.

The only way to test the speed is a wired connection to a laptop/pc. I'm wth Eir on a 1gb fibre NBI line and on my work station which is wired in, I hit just shy of 1gb speeds, usually about 850-920mbps.

And via WiFi ranges from 200mbps-500mbps. And is more than enough for what I need.

Eir pushed the 1gb option as was cheaper when I took into account credit they offered on the account. So went with it. 500mbps is more than enough for majority.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694064#Comment_122694064

I believe eir doesn't offer the 500 Mbps profile on NBI, is this correct?

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122685420#Comment_122685420

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122685421#Comment_122685421

NBI puts the local fibre infrastructure in place which connects to your premises. This infrastructure is connected to regional POHs (points of handover) and from there core fibre backhaul to two data centres in Dublin.

Retail ISPs use this infrastructure to provide a service to you.

Where the ISPs interconnect their network and NBI's network can differ.

NBI provides the option to interconnect at one of the regional POHs and the ISPs use their own backhaul provider to their own data centres or NBI will backhaul to Dublin where the ISPs can interconnect.

Do Sky use BT backhaul infrastructure?

The yellow dots are the enet OLT locations, the white are Open Eir, the green are the PoHs which are also all enet.

shmeee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694146#Comment_122694146

Could be, the 1gb fibre came with account credit and I bought through email from NBI. Can't even remember seeing 500mbps line on sale, but from the price point of it in general, the 1gb was cheaper overall for 24 months.

Tommy Lagahan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122693984#Comment_122693984

Which DA? They updated my house to showing "Survey in progress" (they were here 2 weeks ago) when you stick the eircode in but my DA (Donegal Town area) as a whole is still showing survey pending on their "where are we working" map lol. They must only update that main map quarterly or something.

bullet93

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697712#Comment_122697712

I'm in the Glenties Electoral Area area. We were due to be connected by July-September 2025. That has been the date on the NBI website this past year. We went to pre-order around 8 weeks ago but last week was the earliest date I could get with KN to come out and install. I think unless you are going to pre order stage or live the map is updated quarterly otherwise. (That is my opinion and no one has confirmed this) We would normally get an email every quarter with some updates on it and what stage our area was at.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122694146#Comment_122694146

That'll be fun when NBI finally release their 500mbit max island product!

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122699949#Comment_122699949

Can you explain that?

Isn't their fibre 10 Gbps symmetric.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122700457#Comment_122700457

Some of the islands are going to be connected using microwave links. There'll be glass from the houses/buildings to a comms building & mast, and the intent is that if/when ESBN replace the under-water power cables, they'll do under-water fibre co-installed by the same cable laying vessel.

But until that point, those islands will be capped at 500mbits per subscriber. I presume Tory will be capped forever, as it hasn't got grid power (it has its own diesel generators)

tinchento

hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similiar and would have an idea of timelines?

I went pre-order the middle of sept and ordered with Vodafone. A week later, engineer arrived and ran the cable from the DP to the house, left the cable hanging from the house with a good few metres slack and said someone would be here the following week to install internally in the house. Haven’t heard anything since and when I ring Vodafone they’re telling me order is still in survey state even though the cable is run from the pole and hanging at the side of the house.

Just wondering if anyone had the same - Eircode is still showing as pre-order stage on NBI website but I taught as initial engineer install was so quick, might have had the full install by now.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122718032#Comment_122718032

As you're still in pre-order it's safe to assume the fibre isn't live in your area yet.

shmeee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122718032#Comment_122718032

Who came out and ran the cable? Was it KN?

Not something an engineer would be doing I'd imagine. I was similar, and had to get a survey done on site for poles. Poles went up and next visit was a guy from KN who ran the cable from the road to the house and did the install, there and then. Odd how this guy just ran a wire to the house and left it at that.

mossie

That happened wth my neighbour. Ran the cable to the house but wouldn't do the install inside. Took 2 weeks for the installation to be finished and fibre was live at the time.