Fibre-optic broadband for towns

A €20 million contract has been signed to bring fibre-optic broadband to 50 towns nationwide, including Wicklow, Arklow, Bray, Greystones, Shankill and Newtown-Kilcoole.

Open-access broadband provider SIRO has entered the deal with French Telecoms Infrastructure company Axione and its Irish professional engineering services partner, Obelisk. As a result, over 35,000 homes and businesses in the towns will be able to access the most powerful broadband services in Ireland via SIRO’s retail partners over the next two years.

Using the existing ESB network, SIRO is delivered through fibre-optic cables which run alongside existing electricity connections, all the way to the building.

This technology, known as fibre to the home (FTTH), has no copper connections at any point to slow down the network and delivers 1 Gigabit download and upload speeds.

SIRO has formed partner- ships with Vodafone, Sky Ireland, Carnsore Broadband, Digiweb, Rocket Broadband, Airwire, Kerry Broadband and WestNet, with more retailers expected to come on board as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market.

Commenting on the announcement, Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D’Arcy said ‘ The rollout of Gigabit broadband through 100% FTTB connections to towns in the South East such as Gorey and Arklow, will put them in the same league as Tokyo and Hong Kong for broadband connectivity. This initiative will increase their attractiveness for foreign direct investment, boost the local economy and make remote working a real possibility for residents in the towns. Fibre broadband is a key component for developing the Smart Economy in the South East and SIRO’s arrival is a very welcome development.’