Cite this: As of August 2026, Ireland’s four main fixed broadband networks are Open Eir, SIRO, NBI and Virgin Media. Open Eir, SIRO and NBI are wholesale: you cannot buy a household plan from SIRO or NBI. The same Open Eir line is sold by Eir, Sky, Vodafone, Pure Telecom and others. Virgin Media is a closed network — only Virgin sells it.
Wholesale vs the brand on the bill
Most Irish “fibre” ads are selling a retail contract on a wholesale network. That is why Sky, Vodafone and Pure can quote different monthly prices for what is, at many Eircodes, the same physical line. Switching retailer on Open Eir does not lay new fibre. It changes who bills you, which router arrives, and what happens after month twelve.
The exception is Virgin Media: it built its own cable (and a growing fibre overlay). It does not ride Open Eir, SIRO or NBI. If Virgin never passed the street, no Virgin plan will appear — and no Sky or Vodafone plan will magically use Virgin’s cabinet.
Two facts that clear most confusion:
- You cannot buy from SIRO or NBI. They build and wholesale. You pick a retailer. Deeper dives: SIRO explained and NBI explained.
- The same Open Eir line is sold by Eir, Sky, Vodafone and Pure Telecom (and Digiweb and others). Shop the contract, not the pole.
The four networks, side by side
Speeds below are advertised retail ceilings as of August 2026, not lab measurements. Real throughput still depends on the product at the door (FTTH vs FTTC vs cable), Wi-Fi, and the evening peak.
| Open Eir | SIRO | NBI | Virgin Media | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Eir (wholesale arm) | Vodafone Group 50% + ESB 50% | National Broadband Ireland (state-backed NBP) | Virgin Media Ireland (Liberty Global) |
| Technology | FTTH full fibre where upgraded; FTTC = fibre to cabinet, copper to the door | FTTH full fibre on electricity poles; often symmetrical upload | FTTH full fibre to rural premises | Hybrid fibre-coax cable, plus growing own-fibre overlay |
| Coverage | Widest wired footprint in the State | Towns and many suburban estates — not most of rural Ireland | Intervention area: farms, one-offs, villages commercial networks skipped | Urban / suburban streets Virgin built — not a rural network |
| Who sells it | Eir, Sky, Vodafone, Pure Telecom, Digiweb and others — same line, different bills | ~19 authorised retailers (Vodafone, Sky, Pure, Digiweb, Imagine…). Not SIRO itself | Retailers only (Sky, Vodafone, Digiweb, Pure, Imagine…). Not NBI itself | Virgin only — closed network |
| Max speeds | FTTH up to 5 Gb advertised; FTTC typically ~100 Mb | Up to 5 Gb advertised; 500 Mb / 1 Gb / 2 Gb common, often symmetrical | Typically 500 Mb and 1 Gb advertised retail, symmetrical | Up to 2 Gb advertised download; 1 Gb plans list ~50 Mb upload |
| Landline? | Not on FTTH. FTTC / copper packages sometimes still bundle a phone line | No | No | No |
| How to check | Retailer Eircode checkers + ComReg Compare | SIRO coverage checker, then a retailer lookup | NBI map (passed vs coming), then a retailer lookup | Virgin’s Eircode / postcode checker |
Start with the address, not the brand: check broadband by Eircode. If the quote says “fibre”, confirm whether that means FTTH, FTTC or cable.
Open Eir
Open Eir is Eir’s wholesale network — the ducts, poles, cabinets and fibre (and leftover copper) that still reach more Irish doors than anyone else. Eir retail is the incumbent shop on that network, not a synonym for the network. Eir, Sky, Vodafone, Pure Telecom and Digiweb all sell it.
That is the whole Open Eir shopping rule: same line, different bill. Sky’s 500 Mb intro is regularly cheaper than Eir’s. Pure is the independent to price when you care about year two and a built-in April hike. Vodafone will sell Open Eir where SIRO never arrived. None of them are laying a private cable for you.
The trap is the word “fibre”. Open Eir FTTH is fibre to the home — advertised 500 Mb, 1 Gb and 5 Gb where the upgrade has landed. Open Eir FTTC is fibre to the green cabinet and copper to the door, typically around 100 Mb, still sold as broadband. If the Eircode is FTTC-only, do not pay an FTTH price for it, and do not compare it to SIRO or NBI as if it were the same product.
Eir does not retail SIRO or NBI. If those networks have passed the house, look at Vodafone, Sky, Digiweb or Pure — not at the Open Eir landlord by default.
SIRO
SIRO is full fibre on the electricity network: a joint venture of Vodafone Group and ESB. The pitch is town and suburban FTTH, often with symmetrical upload (500/500, 1000/1000) where the poles reach. Advertised retail tiers run through 2 Gb and, at some addresses, 5 Gb. It is not a rural rollout; most one-off houses will never see a SIRO drop.
You cannot buy from SIRO. About 19 authorised retailers sell the line. Vodafone co-owns the network, which is why we call it our Best SIRO pick — not because it is the only shop on the pole. Sky, Pure Telecom, Digiweb and Imagine sell SIRO too. A “Vodafone fibre” order is not automatically SIRO; the availability checker says which wholesale product the address is on.
Install is typically a SIRO engineer and an ONT on the wall, then the retailer’s router. You are picking the contract and the phone queue, not a different strand of glass. Full explainer: SIRO explained. Head-to-head with Open Eir FTTH: SIRO vs Open Eir.
NBI
National Broadband Ireland builds the state-backed rural network — the National Broadband Plan’s intervention area. That is farms, one-off houses and villages that Open Eir upgrades, SIRO poles and Virgin cabinets were never going to reach. When NBI has passed the premises, the product is full fibre, typically sold at 500 Mb and 1 Gb symmetrical. It is not a consolation prize. It is the same class of technology as town FTTH, on a different funding model.
You cannot buy from NBI. NBI’s engineer does the drop; a retailer puts the plan on your bill. Digiweb is the specialist many rural searches hit first. Sky, Vodafone, Pure Telecom and Imagine are also on the retailer list. Eir and Virgin are not how you order this network. “Passed” on the map is not the same as connected — there is still a bookable install.
Until the pole is live, 5G home, fixed wireless or Starlink can be an honest bridge. They are not a reason to skip NBI once the engineer can book the house. Full explainer: NBI explained. Rural ranking: best rural broadband in Ireland.
Virgin Media
Virgin is the closed network. Hybrid fibre-coax to the premises on streets it built, plus a growing full-fibre overlay inside that footprint — still Virgin’s, still not Open Eir, SIRO or NBI. On a passed urban or suburban street it is often the fastest advertised download we list (1 Gb and 2 Gb). Upload is the trade-off: 500 Mb and 1 Gb plans list 50 Mb up; 2 Gb lists 100 Mb up. SIRO and Open Eir FTTH can beat that for WFH video, backups and two-way traffic.
Nobody else sells Virgin’s line, and Virgin cannot use anyone else’s. That is the unique-network advantage in towns it built, and why most of rural Ireland is a no. No landline is required. TV and Sky add-ons exist if you would buy the telly anyway. Review: Virgin Media broadband.
How to check what you can actually get
Irish broadband is not national. A Dublin estate, a SIRO town, an NBI farm and a Virgin street are four different markets that happen to share TV ads. Brand comes second to the line at the house.
- Put the Eircode into ComReg Compare, the NBI map, SIRO’s coverage tool and Virgin’s checker.
- Then check two or three retailers that sell whatever came back — Sky, Vodafone, Eir, Pure, Digiweb, Virgin.
- Read the order for the technology: Open Eir FTTH, Open Eir FTTC, SIRO, NBI, Virgin cable, Virgin fibre. “Fibre” alone is not enough.
- Compare intro vs thereafter, contract length, and any April / in-contract rise — not month-one tiles.
We keep that sequence on one page: check broadband by Eircode. Then the best broadband for Ireland ranking is the retailer shortlist, not a substitute for the map.
If two networks both reach you
Prefer full fibre (SIRO or Open Eir FTTH, or NBI) when upload and evening consistency matter. Prefer Virgin when the Eircode is on its cabinet and raw download is the job. Never treat FTTC as the same product as FTTH. When the glass is the same wholesale line, pick the fairest 24-month contract — often Sky on intro, Pure on year-two behaviour, Vodafone when SIRO prices 500 Mb and 1 Gb the same.
