Broadband Connection Point Deployment

To provide high-speed broadband access to homes, businesses, schools, and farms across underserved rural areas.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) is leading the delivery of the National Broadband Plan, a major Irish Government initiative aimed at providing high-speed broadband access to homes, businesses, schools, and farms across underserved rural areas. The rollout of Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) was a core component of Our Rural Future, a five-year strategy focused on revitalising rural communities through enhanced digital infrastructure and access.

As part of the initial phases of the National Broadband Plan, NBI required community Wi-Fi installations at more than 300 locations across Ireland. These included public buildings, community centres, libraries, sports clubs, and other civic spaces. The goal was to provide free public internet access in rural areas with limited or no broadband service.

The connections were essential to enabling remote work, online education, and digital community services, laying the groundwork for broader broadband deployment under the National Broadband Plan.

VEI Global was engaged to design, deliver, and deploy community Wi-Fi infrastructure in over 300 rural locations in partnership with Vodafone Ireland, the appointed provider for the Department of Rural & Community Development, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, and NBI.

Project Timeline & Delivery

Work commenced in early 2021 and continued throughout 2022. The deployment was delivered in phases, aligned with site readiness and community requirements. Each BCP site typically progressed from survey to live deployment in 1–2 weeks.

Key delivery features:

• Over 300 sites installed across all regions of rural Ireland
• Nationwide field team coordination with Vodafone Ireland and local authorities
• Compliance with all technical, health, and safety standards
• On-time delivery across all rollout milestones within an 18-month timeframe
• Ongoing support and maintenance post-deployment

VEI Global overcame logistical challenges, including access to remote sites, working in older or non-standard buildings, and managing complex stakeholder coordination. Our flexible scheduling and dedicated project management team ensured efficient, high-quality delivery at scale.

VEI Global was selected based on our:

• Proven track record in nationwide connectivity rollouts
• Expertise in Wi-Fi and infrastructure deployment for public buildings
• Capacity to rapidly mobilise field engineering teams across urban and rural locations
• Trusted partnership and long-standing delivery success with Vodafone Ireland
• Dedicated project management office ensuring coordination and fast turnaround

Our comprehensive solution offering, from design to post-deployment support, ensured NBI’s goals were achieved with minimal disruption and maximum efficiency.