Cork City is home to some of the fastest broadband speeds in Ireland, but other parts of the Rebel County are still without adequate internet access. We take a look at the best plans available across county Cork.
People of Cork, are you up to speed on the status of your county’s broadband?
Parts of the rebel county can get some of the fastest speeds in the whole country, while other areas are trapped in broadband blackspots, unable to get a connection fast enough to re-watch highlights Cork’s 2010 All-Ireland win.
We take a look at the best options available across the county.
Cork City
If you live in Cork City and are not entirely happy with your broadband’s speed, price or reliability, you have options. Lots of them!
Virgin Media: 360 Mbps for €60 a month
Virgin Media boasts the fastest broadband that is widely available in Ireland, with speeds of up to 360 Mbps on offer. There are parts of the country in which Virgin Media isn’t available to customers, but Cork City is not one of them.
For €60 a month, you can get 360 Mbps broadband along with a landline connection that includes unlimited calls to Irish landlines and mobiles as well as 22 international destinations. The package is available for €30 a month for the first 4 months and has a contract duration of 18 months.
If you don’t think you need 360 Mbps broadband, you could get Virgin Media’s 240 Mbps plan and save €10 a month.
The country’s largest telecoms provider, eir, is available in Cork City too of course. You can get unlimited 100 Mbps broadband for €45 a month with the provider, and this is discounted to €30 a month for the first 3 months for new customers.
Eir is also currently expanding its fibre network and is in the process of rolling out speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps in certain parts of the country, but more on that later.
Pure Telecom: 100 Mbps for €39 a month
Pure Telecom’s ‘Purely Broadband’ plan is the cheapest wired broadband that is currently on offer in Cork City. For €39 a month, you will get 100 Mbps speeds and unlimited data.
Pure Telecom uses eir’s fibre network to provide broadband so there is little difference between the connection quality on offer.
Vodafone: 100 Mbps for €40 a month
Like Pure Telecom, Vodafone uses eir’s fibre network too, and is available in Cork City.
The provider offers 100 Mbps for €40 a month over the course of a 24-month contract.
Sky’s 100 Mbps service comes in at €55 a month, but this is discounted to €40 a month for the first 12 months for new customers.
Rural Cork
“What about us rural Corkonians?”, I hear you ask.
Well, the often-cited urban-rural divide exists in certain parts of the county, but many towns outside the city can still access impressive speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
Virgin Media may not be available beyond the city’s limits, but eir, Pure Telecom, Vodafone and Sky are accessible in a large number of towns such as Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Youghal.
As discussed above, eir’s 100 Mbps plan costs €45 a month, with a sign-up rate of €30 a month for the first 3 months.
Pure Telecom’s plan, which also offers unlimited 100 Mbps, comes in at €39 a month.
Vodafone also offers speeds of 100 Mbps, which costs €40 a month.
And finally, Sky offers 100 Mbps for €45 a month for the first 12 months with the provider, and €55 a month after that.
So, for a large number of Cork’s regional towns, there is plenty to choose from and a lot of good value on offer.
Cork’s Broadband Blackspots
Cork is not without its broadband blackspots and regions which are stuck on very slow connections. But, after many false starts, there are finally some plans in place to address this issue.
The National Broadband Plan has pledged to equip the entire county with broadband speeds if at least 30 Mbps by 2020.
eir has its own plans for bridging Cork’s urban-rural digital divide too. The company has committed to equipping 1.9 million homes and businesses across the country with access to its fibre-to-the-home broadband, which can generate speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps, by 2020.
Earlier this month, the locations of the next 100,000 homes to get access to this incredible speed were revealed. And 5,440 of these homes are in the rebel county.
Cobh, Midleton, Youghal, Blarney, Carrigtwohill, Crosshaven, Ringaskiddy, Macroom West, Whitegate, Ballyclough, Kildorrery, Ballincolig and Carrigaline will be up and running with 1,000 Mbps before the year is out.
Check Availability in Your Area
If you’re still unsure of whether or not you could be getting a better broadband speed or price, you can check availability in your area on our Compare Broadband Only page.
Whether you’re in Blarney or Bantry, Midleton or Mitchelstown, we can show you the best plan available in your area and help you switch to a new provider.
Up the Rebels!
