Compare broadband in Northern Ireland
In this guide
- How to find broadband near you
- Irish internet service providers
- Is fibre-optic available across all of NI?
- Should I consider cheap broadband?
- Is mobile broadband a good alternative?
- Broadband availability
Broadband provision in Northern Ireland has some important differences from UK provision. This page will explain what’s are available in Northern Ireland, from which providers, and will help you compare broadband deals in NI to find one that’s right for you.
How to find broadband near you
Our postcode checker will help you find what’s available in your area. Simply enter your postcode and filter results by what’s most important to you - whether this is price, popularity, speed or something else.
Irish internet service providers
Broadband in Northern Ireland can be a very mixed bag. In some areas, such as the densely populated regions in and around Belfast and Londonderry, you’ll find a good choice of Irish providers offering fast and reliable cover. These include big names like BT, Sky, and Virgin Media.
Fixed-line broadband is less widely available in rural areas of Northern Ireland. According to the latest Ofcom data , only 70% of rural areas can access superfast broadband (>30Mbps), compared to 99% of urban areas. But, there are ongoing measures to extend this coverage financed by the government.
Here’s a run-down of providers, and what you can expect from each one.
BT broadband: BT is big in Northern Ireland, and provides almost all of the standard home broadband services that make use of the existing phone network. The brand offers ADSL (10Mbps), three levels of fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) – 36Mbps, 50Mbps, and 67 Mbps – and in select areas, full-fibre connections of up to 910Mbps. It offers superfast fibre (at least 30Mbps) in densely populated areas, making it a popular choice for bigger and busier households.
Read the BT review.
EE broadband: Known primarily as a mobile provider, EE offers both broadband and mobile these days. According to Ofcom , the BT EE network (they’re both owned by the same company) has the highest geographical coverage of 86% among local broadband providers, making it favorable to rural users. Read the EE review.
John Lewis Broadband: Despite the brand’s upmarket reputation, John Lewis provides some of the most affordable broadband deals, with both standard and fibre services available. Read the John Lewis broadband review.
Plusnet broadband: If you’re in Northern Ireland, Plusnet can provide you with a broadband connection, as long as your local BT exchange is enabled. Read the Plusnet review.
Sky broadband: Sky broadband is available across most of Northern Ireland, with a choice of Superfast (36Mbps average), Ultrafast (145Mbps), or Gigafast (900Mbps). Use our free postcode checker to find out exactly which Sky packages are available in your area. Read the Sky review.
TalkTalk broadband: One of the best options for the budget-conscious, TalkTalk offers low monthly costs through the term of your contract. Read the TalkTalk review.
Virgin Media broadband: If you live in an area of Northern Ireland covered by Virgin broadband, you may be able to access fastest home broadband packages in the whole country. Virgin Media’s fibre broadband is carried by the brand’s cable network and is not only reliable but offers great speeds of over 1Gbps. Read the Virgin review.
If you’re looking for broadband deals near you, use our postcode checker to find out what’s currently available in your area. You can also check out our expert reviews to get a better idea of what you can expect from each provider.
Is fibre broadband available across all of NI?
Yes, it’s possible to get a fibre broadband connection in Nothern Ireland, although it’s skewed toward urban areas. According to Ofcom , just 36% of rural areas have access to full-fibre broadband, compared to 85% of urban areas. Virgin Media and BT dominate the market and are available in and around the country’s largest towns and cities, including Belfast, Londonderry, Coleraine & Ballymena.
But, fibre is still being rolled out across the country and new areas are getting connected all the time.
If you want to find out what’s available near you, use our postcode checker at the top of the page. Once the results have loaded, sort by ‘download speed’ at the top of the deals.
Should I consider cheap broadband?
ISPs including Plusnet and John Lewis Broadband are some of the cheapest in Northern Ireland, with deals starting from £18.95 per month.
Choosing a deal that’s right for you, however, should never be done based on price alone. Make sure you’re paying for the right internet speed to suit the number of people in your household and the things they enjoy doing online regularly - otherwise the savings you make could be a false economy.
Also try to look for packages that bundle broadband alongside other services (TV or phone), as they can save you significant costs in the long run.
Finding the best cheap broadband deals in Northern Ireland is easier with our free postcode checker. We’ll show you a complete list of all of the broadband deals and special offers that you can choose from where you live. You can compare the full list, or narrow down deals based on the criteria you select.
If you’re not sure what broadband speed you need, our guide can help you make a choice depending on a number of variables.
Is mobile broadband a good alternative?
Mobile broadband may be your best option to access the internet at home in some parts of Northern Ireland, especially in rural areas that may not have access to a phone line or fibre broadband.
Mobile broadband uses the mobile network and reception varies, depending on what area you’re in. If there’s no coverage, mobile broadband won’t be an option either.
Compare mobile broadband deals
Broadband availability
The availability of broadband in Northern Ireland depends on critical factors like the topography and geography of the country, as well as the wide variations in population density.
Check what choices you have in your area with our broadband Northern Ireland postcode checker at the top of this page.
On the whole, the following areas have good, high, or very high broadband availability:
Belfast
BT1, BT2 & BT3 Belfast City Centre; BT4 Stormont & Sydenham (Victoria); BT5 Castlereagh; BT6 Cregagh; BT7 Ormeau Road; Lower Ormeau, Ormeau Bridge, Upper Ormeau & Donegall Pass; BT9 Laganbank including Lisburn Road, Malone & Taughmonagh; BT10 Finaghy.
Greater Belfast
BT11 & BT12 Andersons town including Falls Road & Glen Road; BT13 including Shankill Road area, Highfield & Woodvale; BT14 Ballysillan including Upper Ballysillan; BT15 Shore Road & Skegoneill Avenue; BT16 Dundonald including portions of A20 Upper Newtownards Road; BT17 including Dunmurry & Hannahstown.
Armagh
BT60 & BT61 Armagh including Collone, Keady, Kilmore, Richhill & Tynan.
Ballymena
BT42 & BT43 Ballymena including Carnlough, Cloughmills, Cushendall, Loughguile, Portglenone & Rasharkin; BT44 Carnlough, Cloughmills, Cushendall, Loughguile, Portglenone & Rasharkin.
Bangor (North Down)
BT19 & BT20 Bangor including Ballygrot, Crawfordsburn, Groomsport & Helen’s Bay.
Coleraine
BT51 & BT52 Coleraine including Aghadowey, Castlerock & Kilrea.
Craigavon
BT62 including Craigavon & Portadown; BT63 Gilford & Lawrencetown; BT64 Craigavon West; BT65 Craigavon East; BT66 including Dollingstown, Lurgan & Waringstown.
Dungannon
BT70 Dungannon including Ballygawley Pomeroy; BT71 Dungannon including Ardboe & Coalisland.
Enniskillen
BT74 Enniskillen centre; BT92 Lisnaskea & Newtownbutler; BT93 Belleek, Derrygonnelly & Kesh; BT94 including Ballinamallard, Irvinestown, Lisbellaw & Maguiresbridge.
Lisburn
BT27 Lisburn including Ballylesson, Drumbo, Hillhall Hillsborough, Lamberg, Legacurry; BT28 Lisburn including Aghalee, Glenavy, Maghaberry & Magheragall.
Londonderry
BT47 Londonderry Claudy, Dungiven, Derry, Faughan Valley & Waterside; BT48 Ballynagard, Colion, Coshquin & Rosemount.
Newtownabbey
BT36 Newtownabbey including Ballyclare, Glengormley, Mallusk & Templepatrick; BT37 including Greenisland & Whiteabbey.
Other areas of Northern Ireland
On the whole, the following areas of Northern Ireland tend not to enjoy as high a level of broadband availability as the more densely populated areas above. These areas tend to have medium to good broadband availability, but lower fibre broadband availability:
BT18 Holywood; BT24 Ballynahinch; BT25 Dromore; BT26 Hillsborough; BT27 & BT28 Lisburn; BT29 Crumlin & BT30 Downpatrick.
BT31 Ballyward; BT32 Banbridge; BT33 Newcastle (Co. Down); BT34 & BT35 Newry; BT36; & BT40 Larne including Ballygally.
BT49 Limavady; BT53 Ballymoney; BT75 Fivemiletown, BT76 Clogher; BT77 Augher; BT78 & BT79 Omagh; and BT80 Cookstown.