Cite this: As of August 2026, Starlink is a satellite retailer (rolling monthly €35 / €55 / €75). NBI is wholesale rural FTTH — you buy from Digiweb, Sky, Vodafone or Pure Telecom, not from NBI. Digiweb’s NBI 1000 is €44.95 intro. NBI wins once the premises is passed. Starlink wins while you wait, or if you will never be passed. Cancel satellite when the engineer is booked.
Starlink is a retailer. NBI is wholesale
This matchup is easy to misread because the names sit in different columns. Starlink sells you a dish, a router and a monthly bill. It is the brand on the invoice. NBI (National Broadband Ireland) builds state-backed rural full fibre in the National Broadband Plan intervention area. It does not sell a household plan, take a card, or put NBI on your bill.
You order NBI from an authorised retailer. The names rural searches actually hit: Digiweb (our NBI specialist), Sky, Vodafone and Pure Telecom. Eir does not retail NBI. Virgin does not use NBI. Same glass, different contract — once the pole is live.
As of August 2026 NBI has passed more than 500,000 premises — about 89% of the intervention area. “Passed” means the fibre can be ordered, not that every house already has an ONT. Full explainer: NBI explained. Starlink review: Starlink in Ireland.
Starlink vs NBI, side by side
Prices are residential / retail intros as of August 2026 from the plans we track. Advertised speeds are not lab measurements.
| Starlink | NBI (via a retailer) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Low-earth-orbit satellite. You buy from Starlink | Wholesale rural FTTH. You buy from Digiweb, Sky, Vodafone, Pure… not NBI |
| Coverage | Nationwide if the dish sees the sky | Intervention area only — farms, one-offs, villages commercial networks skipped |
| When it wins | While NBI is coming, or if you will never be passed, and 5G / wireless are no | Once the map says passed and an engineer can book the house |
| Advertised speed | 100 / 200 / 400 Mb down; plan ~100–200 Mb in a busy evening cell | Typically 500 Mb or 1 Gb, often symmetrical |
| Upload & latency | Better than old VSAT; still loses to fibre for WFH video and gaming | Full fibre. Digiweb NBI 500/1000 listed as 500/500 and 1000/1000 |
| Contract | Rolling monthly. Cancel when the fibre engineer is booked | Typically 12-month retailer contract on the NBI line |
| Price (Aug 2026) | €35 / €55 / €75 — same thereafter | Digiweb NBI 1000 €44.95 → €55; NBI 500 €49.95 → €55. Sky 500 intro often cheaper |
| Install | Self-install dish. Trees and gables matter | NBI engineer + ONT. Retailer router. Wayleaves on long lanes |
| Landline? | No | No |
NBI wins once you are passed
When the NBI map says the premises is passed, the product is full fibre — the same class of technology as town FTTH, on a different funding model. It is not a consolation prize. Upload, latency and evening stability beat satellite. Monthly price on a Digiweb 1000 or a Sky 500 intro usually beats Starlink’s €55 and €75 tiers, and matches or undercuts the €35 tier once you count what you actually get.
Order from a retailer. NBI’s engineer does the drop. Switching retailer later is an ordinary ComReg switch on the same wholesale socket — not a second dig. Do not keep the dish as a “backup” that you pay for every month on a live ONT unless you have a specific reason.
Check the map, then a retailer’s checker (they sometimes lag a week). Passed is not connected: there is still a bookable install. Walk-through: check broadband by Eircode.
Starlink wins while you wait — or if you are never passed
Starlink’s coverage is the product: if fibre, cable, 5G home and fixed wireless are all no, satellite is often yes. Two honest wins:
- While you wait. Map says coming soon. You need internet this month. Prefer rolling monthly so you are not paying an early-termination fee the week the NBI engineer is free. If the date is days away, waiting is usually cheaper than mounting a dish.
- If you are never passed this year. One-off farms, islands, holiday sites, remaining awkward premises in the intervention area. Starlink is a genuine first choice there — not a clever upgrade on a SIRO street.
It does not beat NBI, SIRO or Open Eir FTTH where those exist. Do not buy it on a town estate to be clever. Review: Starlink. Dates: when is NBI coming.
Rolling monthly vs 12-month fibre
The commercial difference is the exit. Starlink residential stays at the same monthly forever until you cancel. NBI is a retailer contract — typically 12 months — on a line that is worth keeping.
| Plan | Monthly | Thereafter | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink Residential 100 Mb | €35 | €35 | Rolling monthly |
| Starlink Residential 200 Mb | €55 | €55 | Rolling monthly |
| Starlink Residential Max (400 Mb) | €75 | €75 | Rolling monthly |
| Digiweb HyperPulse NBI 1000 | €44.95 | €55 | 12 months |
| Digiweb NBI Fibre 500 | €49.95 | €55 | 12 months |
Kit on Starlink is frequently bundled in Ireland in 2026; hardware terms (included vs deposit) change — confirm at checkout. Digiweb’s 1000 is often better value than their own 500. Sky’s 500 Mb intro is regularly the cheapest year-one fibre bill if they sell NBI at the Eircode. Prices move.
What to do while you wait
- Put the Eircode on the NBI map. Passed → pick a retailer. Coming → pre-order and use a leave-anytime stopgap. Not in the intervention area → you are shopping Open Eir / SIRO / Virgin, not NBI.
- If you need internet now and there is no mast: Starlink, rolling monthly. If Three or Imagine 5G already covers the yard at a lower monthly, prefer that over a dish.
- The day the map flips to passed, order fibre. Cancel Starlink when the appointment is booked — not “after we see if fibre is any good”. It will be.
Rural ranking of fibre, wireless, 5G and satellite: best rural broadband in Ireland. Four-network map: Open Eir vs SIRO vs NBI vs Virgin.
