Business

New €100m broadband network to serve Dublin city internet blackspots

SIRO has announced that its network is now available to 100,000 homes and businesses in the Dublin area

SIRO is currently rolling out a €1 billion gigabit broadband network across Ireland, and announced on Monday that a €100 million fibre network is now live. Photograph: Julien Behal Photography

Ellen O’Regan
Mon Jan 15 2024 - 00:01

Some 100,000 premises across Dublin, including 50,000 homes and businesses in Dublin city, can now access high-speed fibre broadband through SIRO, a joint-venture company between ESB and Vodafone.

SIRO is currently rolling out a €1 billion gigabit broadband network across Ireland, and announced on Monday that a €100 million fibre network is now live.

The roll-out focus is part of a strategy to make services available to underserved areas, including Dublin’s Docklands, East Wall, Walkinstown, Kimmage and Crumlin.

The expansion in the capital was in collaboration with Dublin City Council’s Telecoms Unit, and broadband officers in the other three Dublin local authorities.

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SIRO’s network is already established in other parts of the city such as Fairview, Raheny, Finglas, Artane and Coolock, as well as across the four Dublin local authority areas from Balbriggan in Fingal as far south as Shankill in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown.

The joint-venture company, formed between ESB and Vodafone in 2015, said it plans to continue to build across Dublin city and county “where other commercial opportunities exist”.

SIRO chief executive John Keaney said that the presumption that cities already enjoy universal full fibre connectivity can be “inaccurate”.

“SIRO is rolling out our network across Dublin, city and county, because a real need exists to address existing connectivity black spots. By now reaching areas underserved by fibre to the home broadband, such as the Docklands, East Wall or Crumlin and Walkinstown, we are striving to ensure these areas have the broadband infrastructure essential for the future wider social and economic development of the city,” he said.

[ Fridays bring unique ‘surge’ in broadband activity from about 2pm, says Vodafone Ireland ]

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste added that the infrastructure is a “really positive investment for Dublin”.

“We need to ensure that all of our communities have access to high-quality broadband services and are not left behind as the adoption of new technologies and digital services continue to accelerate,” he said.

Nationally, SIRO has rolled out fibre networks to every county in Ireland, reaching almost 550,000 homes and businesses. The company says it is on track to reach 700,000 premises by 2026.

Ellen O'Regan

Ellen O’Regan

Ellen O’Regan is an Irish Times journalist.

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