NBI Broadband Ireland Is Almost Complete in Rural Ireland. Is Your Business Connected
The National Broadband Plan is in its final phas
More than 500,000 homes, farms and businesses across rural Ireland have now been passed by the NBI high-speed fibre network. The main infrastructure rollout is on track for completion by the end of 2026.
The National Broadband Plan is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Irish history. Described as the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification, it is delivering high-speed fibre broadband to the homes, farms and businesses in areas where commercial operators had no plans to invest.
As of October 2026, the programme is in its final phase. Counties across Ireland are reaching completion milestones week by week. And the businesses in those areas that have not yet connected to the NBI network are leaving a transformative infrastructure investment sitting unused at their door.
Here is where the NBI rollout stands county by county, why this matters for rural Irish businesses and how to connect through Fastcom.
The NBI Broadband Ireland Completion Schedule - County by County
The government published the full NBI completion schedule on 1 September 2026. Here is the complete picture:
County | NBI Completion Status |
Kilkenny | Completed June 2026 |
Longford | Completed June 2026 |
Westmeath | Completed June 2026 |
Tipperary | Completed July 2026 |
Waterford | Completed July 2026 |
Meath | Completed July 2026 |
Dublin | Completed August 2026 |
Monaghan | Completed September 2026 |
Laois | |
Leitrim | |
Sligo | Completed September 2026 |
Offaly | |
Kildare | Completed September 2026 |
Louth | October 2026 |
Wexford | October 2026 |
Cavan | October 2026 |
Roscommon | October 2026 |
Galway | End 2026 |
Mayo | End 2026 |
Cork | End 2026 |
Limerick | End 2026 |
Source: Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, 1 September 2026. Note: completion of main build works does not mean every individual premises is connected, it means the infrastructure is in place to order. Check your Eircode here to confirm availability at your specific address.
What Completion Means for Your Business
When NBI announces that a county has reached its main build completion milestone, it means the fibre infrastructure has been built to the vast majority of premises in the intervention area of that county. The fibre runs past your premises. You can now place an order to connect.
It does not happen automatically. You need to place an order through an NBI retail service provider. Fastcom is an NBI retail service provider serving businesses and homes in Sligo and surrounding areas.
The process is straightforward. You check your Eircode at nbi.ie to confirm the connection is available at your specific address. You contact Fastcom to place an order. An NBI engineer installs the connection. You are on fibre broadband.
Average take-up is approximately 36% nationally, rising above 60% in areas where services have been available for longer.
That means in many areas where the NBI rollout has completed, a significant majority of eligible homes and businesses have not yet connected. The infrastructure is there. The connection is not being used.
What NBI Fibre Means for Rural Irish Businesses
The difference between the broadband most rural Irish businesses had before the NBI rollout and what they can access now is not marginal. It is transformational.
Speed and reliability
NBI delivers fibre-to-the-premises broadband. The fibre cable runs directly to your home or business. There is no copper bottleneck. d The connection is consistent and does not degrade with distance from street infrastructure.
For a rural business that previously relied on an ADSL connection with slow upload speeds, dropped video calls and poor performance during busy periods, the shift to NBI fibre is immediate and dramatic.
Remote working
NBI fibre makes genuine remote working possible for rural areas that previously could not sustain it. Video calls that were unreliable on slow connections become stable. Cloud systems that were sluggish respond instantly. Staff who could not effectively work from rural home addresses can now do so without productivity loss.
Business applications
Cloud accounting, CRM systems, video conferencing, point-of-sale systems, online ordering, booking platforms, connected machinery on farms — every application that was limited by a slow connection runs better on NBI fibre. For rural businesses that have been managing workarounds and accepting poor performance as normal, the change is significant.
What to Do If Your Area Has Completed
If your county appears in the completed or in the October 2026 columns above, here is what to do:
• Check your specific Eircode here to confirm the connection is available at your address, county completion does not mean every single premises is connected yet
• Contact Fastcom to discuss connection options and pricing for your home or business
• Arrange the NBI installation, Fastcom manages the process end to end
• If your Eircode is not yet showing as available, register your interest at nbi.ie to be notified when your address comes online
The National Broadband Plan is one of the most significant things to happen to rural Ireland in a generation. In Sligo, Leitrim and across the counties completing their rollout in September and October 2026, the infrastructure is now in place. The question is whether the businesses in those areas are making the most of it.
Connect to NBI fibre broadband through Fastcom.
Fastcom is an NBI retail service provider serving homes and businesses in Sligo and the surrounding region. If you are in an NBI coverage area and want to connect, give us a call. We will check your Eircode, confirm availability and manage the installation from start to finish.
Visit fastcom.ie/nbi-broadband-ireland or call +353 818 70 71 71
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