Ireland's National Broadband Plan (NBP) will be completed by the end of 2026. However, for now, the promotion of the NBP program is still significantly behind the original plan, and only 7,000 places in Ireland have been connected so far.
In response, Peter Hendrick, chief executive of Ireland's National Broadband Corporation (NBI), said that the current monthly cable laying in Ireland is enough to travel from Dublin to Paris. The company has doubled the number of contractors working on the project to four and is in talks with more contractors to get more orders.
The multibillion-euro project is expected to connect 554,000 homes and businesses when completed, but it has been plagued by delays since its implementation two years ago. In addition to the €32 million bid fee that has already been repaid, NBI investors have not received any return on their investment.
The NBP will establish high-speed broadband connectivity for all parts of Ireland, including rural and remote areas, further boosting Ireland's digital economy and increasing employment and educational opportunities in Ireland. The world's richest man, Elon Musk's Starlink, is one of Ireland's home satellite broadband providers.