National Broadband Ireland : implementation and progress

lukin

I have a question about locations that are part of the NBI rollout and those that were not; in other words those inside the "intervention area" and those outside the "intervention area"; are people that have been connected to fibre by the NBI now going to have better, faster broadband than those that were not part of the NBI rollout?

Will we now have a two-tier hierarchy with those that were not included in the NBI rollout lagging behind those that were part of the NBI rollout?

Just curious, I am due to be connected by NBI in a couple of months so I guess I am in the better camp.

iwantbroadband

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123367436#Comment_123367436

Some more questions around this:

• If the cable is run in overhead, is there a termination box mounted somewhere on the outside of the building? If so, where? Is it where the wire from the pole meets the building, or where the outdoor wiring transfers indoors?
• If there is an outdoor termination box, does the cable run into the house have pre-terminated connectors? Therefore is it a set length, and what are the length options?

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123370405#Comment_123370405

The drop cable runs direct to the indoor ONT, to a location agreed between you and the installer on the day

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123369739#Comment_123369739

Basically yes and the fault lies with the commercial providers who said they would provide fibre connectivity to these non-intervention areas when the intervention map was being compiled.

The plan was to have all the areas connected to fibre by the end of 2028 but it's looking like this may not be possible now and could require an Urban NBP.

Thread on it here - Urban NBP on the way ? — boards.ie - Now Ye're Talkin'

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123369313#Comment_123369313

Our fibre was rolled out early Feb with an expected connection date of Oct-Dec this year, no DPs yet. There are still pockets where poles are required and fibre to be run. I assume these will have to be completed before the DP installation starts.

The expectation is the DPs will be installed during the summer but this is in the hands of the NBI planners.

TimHorton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123369313#Comment_123369313

We were at at that point (New poles with loops of cable) in mid November, Our install is not due to happen until May 9th (I was checking site regularly and ordered the day it went "Available to pre order") - DP box up about 2 months…Its slow but the storms may had an a big impact.

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123369739#Comment_123369739

No. Those in intervention areas are parts of the country other operators don’t intend to roll out fibre as it’s not commercially viable.

Between SIRO, Open Eir & Virgin serving the areas NBI don’t no one should be left without fibre in the not too distant future.

lukin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123373633#Comment_123373633

Yeah I thinks so too. An Urban National Broadband Plan would be a colossal waste of money in my opinion.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123374209#Comment_123374209

Probably but to get to the most difficult urban areas it could be the only solution otherwise those premises will be left without a fibre connection

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123374546#Comment_123374546

areas such as?

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123375463#Comment_123375463

No published locations that we're aware of but I refer you to the Minister's written reply to an Oireachtas PQ at the end of March last

Concerns being raised already by commercial operators and Comreg that they may not be able to fulfill their obligations in the commercial rollout area

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025-03-27/141/#spk_478

Lewis_Benson

Got an appointment for 9th may to be connected to sky.

II'm intending to use the existing tp link deco mesh for all of the routing functions and do away with the sky hub altogether.

Does anyone have the WAN settings to hand, I understand WAN traffic needs to be VLAN tagged with VLAN 10. Is it a simple DHCP WAN connection besides that?

Raichų

hi guys has anyone ever had a ridiculous request during their installation such as the hallway or drive way requires to be dug up etc?

Hear this every now and again that installs were stopped by a customer as they were told it needed their hallway dug up or something mad.

I know engineers have had to cut down the concrete in driveways etc to access ducting but surely they’re not going into peoples homes and asking to dig out the floor?

lukin

I got the pre-order email but before I sign up to a provider I just want to know if I sign up am I charged the monthly fee before NBI come out and put the drop cable into the wall?

Because I have heard of some people being given a connection date range and then they weren't actually connected within that date range. So I don't want to be paying for a fibre service that hasn't been installed yet. My connection date range is July to September of this year.

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379958#Comment_123379958

no and if you are charged before the service is installed you need to contact provider to refund same.

mossie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379505#Comment_123379505

Never heard of anything like this inside a house. They just drill a hole in the wall and that's it.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379505#Comment_123379505

My presumption here is installers will try get the easiest means to install with least effort. If that means a small hole at your door in the driveway to locate the incoming phone line ducting they'll do that over digging a new ducting line. Similarly if they've to make a small hole at a porch they'll probably do that given permission.

Digging up floors inside, no probably not at all. They'd put new duct and hole through the wall.

Not every installs the same but there are im sure limits to what they'll do.

Raichų

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123380060#Comment_123380060

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123380120#Comment_123380120

yeah I feel there’s potentially a little bit of good old fashioned over exaggerating 🤣

I know of a handful of installs that required a bit of digging in the driveway when ducts were blocked or non existent passed the public road/footpath but digging up the interior of the property is clearly rubbish.

What purpose would it even serve? As you say the cable ducting stops outside anyway! I think we all know at least one person who could be told “we need to a drill a hole” and they’ll hear “we want to knock in that wall there and probably dig a hole here”

Just heard it a few times now but I felt there’s no way it could be the case!

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123379505#Comment_123379505

Haven't really heard this in relation to fibre but back in the days of copper ADSL/VDSL, (posts here on boards) homeowners searching for the incoming copper line or duct, possibly buried under a tiled floor or behind skirting under footpaths etc.

Some abandoned the install not wanting to dig out floors/paths/garden searching for the elusive cable/duct, others carried on.

I assume the same will apply today in older housing estates getting fibre for the first time, houses without ducting it will be difficult to get fibre in without digging a trench of some sort or in others trying to find an old duct into the house.

lukin

I have had Starlink for over three years now and am weeks away from getting FTTD but I don't feel excited because it feels like I have it already really. I know satellite broadband is inferior to fibre (God knows I have had that said to me several times on this forum 😀) but it does have a feeling of bolting the door after the horse has gone.

After years, nay decades, of wanting fibre, it has a hollow feeling about it.

Lewis_Benson

What speeds can you achieve on the starlink connection?

It's still pretty expensive.

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123380816#Comment_123380816

Having moved from 2mb to then imagine around suffering patchy 70mb and then starlink at around 200mb over 7 years. I'm very excited to have 1GB broadband which has low latency. I've never had low latency since living in an apartment with Virgin media connection 10 years ago.

Starlinks great for what it is..but if your remotely serious about video calls for working and gaming. It ain't it. It's 'ok'.

Download speeds for media are good though.

So my excitement is based on experiencing all forms of connections, and knowing where their limitations are.

listermint

200 to 250 mb. Crappy latency and pings.

Good download speeds.

Raichų

there’s honestly no comparison to full fibre broadband.

lukin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123380992#Comment_123380992

I have been using Starlink for Teams calls (I don't use the webcam) since I installed it in September 2021 and have never once experienced latency. I have streamed loads of football matches with it and it rarely buffered (sorry mods I know this isn't the Starlink thread).

listermint

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123381049#Comment_123381049

You don't use the webcam. ...

So basically your making voice calls. That's not video calls pal. I do hours of video calls daily. It's not suitable for it. It's 'ok'.

Anyone who knows technology knows its limitations. Theres years of conversation on why satellite isn't comparable to fibre broadband right here on this thread all backed by data and evidence. Rather than hearsay and opinion.

How is getting a 1gb low latency connection not exciting !! 🤔

Dero

I work in I.T. - mostly remote. I've worked from home for years before COVID, and on top of that I'm into networks / servers as a hobby so I've been desperate for proper fibre broadband for decades - even before it was viable I used to dream about it!

I spent ~5 years with ISDN, followed by 11 years of very patchy WiFi based broadband (unlicensed spectrum; interference-prone) and finally 8 years with Imagine (licensed spectrum, but chronic congestion issues) before I finally got FTTH via NBI. I've had 1000/100 from Digiweb for almost a year now, and honestly, it is every bit as good as I'd hoped. The biggest improvement for me is just the sheer stability of it, along with the low latency. It just works, and it always just works. I've had one outage all year of about 2 hours following a storm. It doesn't matter what I or anyone else does, it won't affect anyone else using it.

To be honest, it does eventually fade into just another utility, but every now and then I look at the little blinking light on the ONT and have to pinch myself that it actually happened. Sad I know, but I've wanted this for so long it's not funny.

Anyway, TL;DR - FTTH is a game-changer. Doesn't matter if you stream or game or WFH, there is no comparison with anything else.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Former 3 year Starlink veteran here … I don't game, so latency isn't a consideration, but my many many many video calls on it were always of excellent quality and rarely any issues.

On Digiweb 1GB via NBI now and yes the download speed is 4 times what I had before, but the experience isn't massively different. Yes I do notice a slight improvement in responsiveness (i.e. the latency bit), but streaming is no different to before.

What I DO NOTICE, is the upload. My cloud syncs are much faster and rarely poop out. I sometimes have 100-150MB presentations (embedded videos for those asking), which frequently had to retry syncing on SL, but now just fly up in one go on Fibre.

My housemate says she hasn't really noticed any difference since we switched. She would be your average user.

clohamon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122398990#Comment_122398990

Update on NBI's three-pole microwave plan for the Gap of Dunloe.

Two of these planning applications, almost a year old, are encountering environmental issues. One is now withdrawn and the other requires further information from NBI.

Visual amenity, civil works, improbable mapping, ducting, silt, otters, and the ‘Kerry Slug’ all get mentioned in various submissions, including two from DHLGH.

Exiled Rebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123380905#Comment_123380905

200mbps, 50 euro per month.

Teams video calls, live TV etc work perfectly without issue.

Have had it 2 years and will have it for another while yet as we are still in the nbi survey stage.