NBI infrastructure is already live on 14 islands, including Hare Island and Long Island, also off the coast of Cork, as well as Turbot Island and Inishturk South Island off the coast of Galway; and Inishlyre Island and Collanmore Island off the coast of Mayo.

Other islands off the coast of Donegal have also been connected.

NBI chief executive Peter Hendrick said they were “proud” to deliver the necessary broadband infrastructure to Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island adding: “These communities will have access to the same quality, speeds and reliability that our network offers to anyone living on the mainland.”

NBI works with more than 70 internet providers which can offer the service to residents on the islands and this can be done by contacting NBI directly or visiting its website.

NBI is a wholesale provider and does not sell fibre broadband directly to end users, rather it enables services from a range of broadband providers.

According to NBI, 82,000 premises in Cork are included in the State’s Intervention Area, which will see NBI deliver minimum speeds of 500 megabits per second to homes, businesses, farms, and schools.

So far, just over 40,000 premises in Cork already have had work completed, and they can now pre-order or order high-speed broadband across the county, with 12,891 connections made so far.

Since the National Broadband Plan was established in 2020, NBI has completed work to enable the delivery of high-speed broadband to 337,440 homes, farms and businesses in rural Ireland, with over 115,000 now connected.

The average take-up rate of 34% is well ahead of projections and international comparisons, and surpasses 50% in areas of the country where the network has been live for 18 months.

NBI has the contract to roll out fibre connectivity to 540,000 homes across the country by 2027 and expects to complete 420,000 by the end of this year.