420,000 premises around the country will have high-speed broadband made available to them by the National Broadband Plan (NBP) by the end of next year.
That's according to National Broadband Ireland (NBI), which has the €3bn Government contract to rollout connectivity to 540,000 homes, farms and businesses in the intervention area.
Connections are already available to 55% of all the premises that are covered by the plan.
NBI says that the progress means that the rollout is still expected to complete on schedule and on budget.
"There is huge demand for fast, reliable broadband and our take-up rates are reflecting this," said NBI chief executive, Peter Hendrick.
"We’re working hard on the ground to ensure our rollout stays on track and we have now achieved and exceeded our targets for 2024."
"Next year, we aim to have passed over 420,000 homes, businesses, and farms, which will leave us in a strong position to complete our rollout program in line with our contractual commitments."
NBI said 540,119 or 96% of premises have now been surveyed and 86% are now in the construction phase.
310,676 homes, farms and businesses have been passed by the network, meaning they can connect to it and 104,517 of those have so far.
NBI said take-up rates in the areas that were available for connection first around 18 months ago have now reached 50%.
Some 72 retail service providers have signed up to offer services using the wholesale network, which is operated by NBI.
"While NBI’s initial, large-scale rollout project will be completed in the coming years, this is only the beginning of our digital connectivity role," said Mr Hendrick.
"NBI will continue to operate the network and connect new homes and businesses to our fibre infrastructure for the next 20 years at least. Ireland, and rural Ireland in particular, will continue to reap the benefits of the National Broadband Plan for generations to come.
