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 to 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 - the only Irish fibre provider.
In more rural areas of Northern Ireland, however, fixed-line broadband is less widely available, meaning that many people must rely on mobile coverage, if this is available.
Here’s a run-down of providers, and what you can expect from each one.
BT broadband: BT are big in Northern Ireland, and provide almost all of the standard home broadband services that make use of the existing phone network. The brand also offers superfast fibre in densely populated areas, making the brand 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. The provider has the widest geographical coverage compared to other mobile providers and reaches 88% of the country. 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.
Post Office broadband: The Post Office is consistently among the cheapest providers and offers a solid basic service for your internet needs. If you want something simple with no-frills, have a closer look at this ISP. Read the Post Office review.
Sky broadband: Sky broadband is available across most of Northern Ireland, with a choice of Sky Broadband Lite and Sky Broadband Unlimited. 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 the very fastest home broadband packages in the whole country. Virgin Media fibre optic broadband is carried by the brand’s cable network and is not only reliable but incredibly speedy. 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-optic available across all of NI?
Yes, it’s possible to get a fibre-optic connection in some areas of Northern Ireland. 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.
Fibre is still being rolled out across the country and new areas are getting connected to 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 The Post Office, 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.
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. This is particularly true for people living in very rural areas that are not connected to the phone network by phone line or fibre-optic cable.
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 widespread 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/Gilnahirk; BT6 Cregagh; BT7 Ormeau Road; Lower Ormeau, Ormeau Bridge, Upper Ormeau & Donegall Pass; BT8 Carryduff; 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 Alexandra Park, Shore Road & Skegoneill Avenue; BT16 Dundonald including portions of A20 Upper Newtownards Road; BT17 including Dunmurray & Hannahstown.
Armagh
BT60 & BT61 Armagh including Collone, Hamiltonsbawn, Loughgall, 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; BT63Gilford & 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, Edlington, 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 optic broadband availability:
BT18 Holywood; B21 Donaghadee; B22 & B23 Newtownards; BT24 Ballynahinch; BT25 Dromore; BT26 Hillsborough; BT27 & BT28 Lisburn; BT29 Crumlin & BT30 Downpatrick.
BT31 Castlewellan & Ballyward; BT32 Banbridge; BT33 Newcastle (Co. Down); BT34 & BT35 Newry; BT36 & BT37 Newtownabbey; BT38 Carrickfergus; BT39 Ballyclare & BT40 Larne including Ballygally & Greenisland.
BT41 Antrim; BT45 Magherafelt; B46 Maghera; BT49 Limavady; BT53 Ballymoney; BT54 Ballycastle; BT55 Portstewart; BT56 Portrush; BT57 Bushmills; BT68 Caledon; BT69 Aughnacloy; BT75 Fivemiletown, BT76 Clogher; BT77 Augher; BT78 & BT79 Omagh; BT80 Cookstown; BT81 Castlederg and BT82 Strabane.