National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company rolling out the National Broadband Plan (NBP), has said new research shows a mismatch between levels of satisfaction and experience of broadband performance among respondents, which suggests people may be settling for less and missing out on the benefits of high-speed broadband.

NBI commissioned Core Research to undertake research among members of the public who are living within the NBP Intervention Area (IA) and will therefore be served by the NBI high speed fibre network but who have not yet availed of a connection.

“ComReg’s most recent quarterly report showed impressive uptake and performance of fixed fibre broadband connections,” said National Broadband Ireland Chief Executive Officer, Peter Hendrick.

“This is backed up by the take-up rate on the NBI network which is averaging 30% and surpassing expectations and performance in other jurisdictions.

“However, the aim of NBI and the Irish Government is for more and more people to avail of high-speed fibre, and the research we commissioned shows there is still a gap in public understanding of the quality of reliability and speed which is now becoming available, which could see people missing out on the benefits of high-speed broadband,” he added.

The research, carried out among 231 people who are resident in the National Broadband Plan Intervention Area but have not yet availed of a connection, showed that more than four in five respondents experienced at least one of a range of broadband connectivity issues – and yet two in three are satisfied with speed and reliability.

Pictured: Peter Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer, National Broadband Ireland.