Taken from The Broadband Coverage in Europe 2023 Report - a study prepared for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology
by OMDIA and Point Topic Ltd.
National coverage by broadband technology
By the end of June 2023, 97.2% of Irish households had access to at least one fixed broadband network. Rural fixed broadband coverage reached 92.7% of rural households. NGA services were available to 95.0% of all Irish households and 86.8% of rural homes were passed by NGA networks.
Overall fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage reached 87.0% of households at a national level, 8.2 percentage points above the EU average. Due to a steady progression in FTTP rollouts, rural fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage grew by 9.8 percentage points, reaching 65.5% of rural households.
DSL remained the most prevalent fixed broadband technology, reaching 93.0% of households, while FWA was available to just under a third (30.0%) of Irish households. VDSL remains the most common NGA technology, with 85.7% of households covered, unchanged compared to mid-2022. VDSL2 Vectoring was available to 80.2% of Irish households, growing by 12.9 percentage points year-on-year.
However, the incumbent, eir, has begun a process of decommissioning of its legacy copper network as it focuses on FTTP network buildouts and in areas where FTTP networks become available, DSL and VDSL services are switched off.
Cable modem DOCSIS 3.0 coverage remained under a half (41.9%) of households, almost all of which supported DOCSIS 3.1. FTTP again recorded a significant increase in coverage (+6.4p.p.), to reach 78.5% of homes at the end of June 2023. Moreover, as many FTTP rollouts have been focused in areas with limited cable network presence, coverage of both networks is more complementary than overlapping.
In terms of mobile broadband, 5G coverage grew only slightly by 1.4 percentage points, hitting 85.3% in June 2023. 5G networks utilizing the 3.4–3.8 GHz frequency band passed 56.7% of Irish households.
In rural areas, DSL coverage remained stable, reaching 81.3% of households. VDSL services were available to 66.5% of households. The Irish government’s National Broadband Plan continued to lead to significant growth in rural FTTP coverage over the year (+10.0 p.p.), with nearly two thirds (62.7%) of rural homes passed by FTTP networks at the end of June 2023. Rural cable DOCSIS 3.0 coverage remained limited at 3.8%. Rural 5G coverage was below the EU average, at 62.3% compared to 73.7%. 5G coverage in the 3.4–3.8 GHz band was available to 10.5% of rural Irish households.
Regional coverage by broadband technology
Fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage in Ireland varies across regions, with South East and Dublin having universal and near-universal coverage and South-West Ireland recording the lowest fixed broadband coverage level, at 59.1%.
Equally, FTTP coverage also recorded varied regional levels, reaching over 99% coverage the Border and South-East regions and less than 60% coverage in the South-West region.
Rural fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage is even more varied than on a total level, with the South-West region recording coverage level below 10%. While in Dublin and South-East regions nearly all rural households had access to gigabit-speed-capable services.
Data tables for Ireland
Note: The 2023 figures represent the state of broadband coverage at the end of June 2023. The 2022 (end of June) and 2021 (end of June) figures are drawn from the previous studies conducted by IHS Markit, Omdia, and Point Topic.
All restatements are highlighted in italics.
Taken from The Broadband Coverage in Europe 2023 Report - a study prepared for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology
by OMDIA and Point Topic Ltd.
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