Irish rural broadband provider Imagine has agreed a network deal with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) which will transform their broadband speeds.

Most of Imagine’s 40,000 customers will now be able to enjoy much improved speeds of 500 Mbps and 1Gbps compared to the top speed of 150 Mbps on Imagine’s fixed wireless system.

Late last year Team Group of Companies which is based in Armenia purchased a majority stake in Imagine.

The new owners immediately signalled their intention to pivot to fibre and to enhance the quality and stability of the service it offered customers.

Now following Imagine’s launch on the NBI network the company will be in a position to offer faster speeds and better service to over 337,440 premises across Ireland which have been fibre enabled by NBI.

Niall Tallon CEO of Imagine described the deal with NBI as a significant milestone for rural broadband connectivity.

He said the company had vowed to deliver faster broadband and innovative solutions to its customers and was now delivering on that promise.

“We have ambitious plans for Imagine and we believe that by leveraging innovative technologies and collaborating with infrastructure partners like NBI we can provide the very best broadband speeds and services to our customers," he said.

"By switching to fibre our customers are getting a superior service at comparable cost while the company gets to expand its reach and offerings.

"But this is just the start; there is much more to come from Imagine and we are looking forward to sharing those plans with our customers in the coming months.”

Imagine customer Wicklow auctioneer Pat O'Neil and his wife Monica had been using the wireless system at their home in Aughrim.

But Pat described the decision to switch to broadband as a no brainer.

"We received the modem by post and then Imagine arranged for the technician to come and connect us up. That was a very straightforward procedure, he did a very neat job and it took just over an hour," he explained.

“We are now getting a much more reliable service, and the speed has improved immensely.

"We’re also getting it for a similar cost, so it was a no brainer. It means the problems we had are a thing of the past and that family members can now stay with us and work from here, which is really great because the previous poor service would have put them off.”

Peter Hendrick, CEO of National broadband Ireland (NBI) said: “We are delighted that Imagine is joining the growing number of retail service providers offering broadband packages on our network.

"There are now over 70 providers on our network, meaning there is huge choice for anyone connecting to high-speed fibre through NBI.

"Our rollout will ensure that every home, farm and business in Ireland has access to high-speed fibre broadband. We’ve now passed over 337,440 premises across the country, and all of these will have the same guarantee in terms of access, speed and reliability.”

Pics: Stephen O’Brien