Carlow Gigabit Town
Carlow Unveiled As Ireland’s Latest Gigabit Town By SIRO
SIRO, the wholesale broadband operator building a 100% fibre-optic broadband network in 50 towns nationwide, has announced that services are now live to an initial 4,500 homes and businesses in Carlow Town, with packages already available from Vodafone and Digiweb. The company updated Carlow Municipal District Council yesterday on the continued roll-out of their 1 Gigabit (1,000Mbps) broadband network in the town.
Construction has already been completed in Sandhills, Dolmen Gardens, Castle Oaks, The Downs, Hunters Green, Burrin Road, Green Road, Blackbog Road, Leighlin Road, Barrowvale and Heather Hill, with the full rollout of SIRO’s Gigabit connectivity expected to be completed by the end of the summer next year.
SIRO’s Fibre-to-the-Building technology is recognised as the gold standard for broadband connectivity internationally and is 100% fibre-optic, with no copper at any point to slow it down, meaning that the internet experience of Carlow will be transformed. SIRO’s Gigabit connectivity will allow residents and businesses in Carlow to avail of broadband that is three times faster than the best service available in Dublin (350 Mbps) and 10 times more powerful than the fastest average internet speed in Ireland. For example, downloading a high definition (HD) film of 4 GB (Gigabytes) with a 10 Mbps connection takes an hour – with SIRO it takes 30 seconds.
Speaking after the meeting, Mayor of Carlow Cllr. Jim Deane, said:
“Fibre broadband is a key component for developing the Smart Economy in Carlow and this initiative will put Carlow Town in the same league as Tokyo and Hong Kong for broadband connectivity. This is vital for boosting the local economy, given the necessity of high speed broadband for attracting foreign direct investment. SIRO’s arrival is a welcome development and shows how we are delivering on the Carlow County Development Plan.”
Stephen O’Connor, Director of Corporate Affairs with SIRO, added:
“This is broadband at its best as SIRO is a custom built 100% fibre optic network powered by light, with no copper connection that would slow the service. There is nothing faster than the speed of light, so Carlow residents and businesses will be guaranteed the best broadband experience in the country thanks to SIRO’s 100% fibre optic network. SIRO will help attract investment to the town, enabling Carlow businesses to compete online. Students in the local Institute of Technology Carlow will be able to access the latest online educational resources from their homes without fear of lack of speed or buffing. This is an important development for the town, supporting economic and social development and future-proofing Carlow’s internet infrastructure for decades to come.”
Using the existing ESB network, SIRO delivers fibre optic cables all the way to the building. This technology, known as Fibre-to-the-Building, has no copper connections at any point to slow down the network and delivers 1 Gigabit speeds. This will propel Carlow into the international leagues alongside cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo for broadband connectivity creating a platform for future economic development in the region.
The SIRO network now covers 100,000 premises, with services now live or under construction in 25 towns across the country including Dundalk, Carrigaline, Sligo, Letterkenny, Tralee, Cavan, Wexford, Skibbereen, Drogheda, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Ennis, Castlebar, Westport, Limerick, Newbridge, Carlow, Swords, Balbriggan, Bray, Greystones, Athlone, Killarney, Shannon and Mallow.
SIRO is offered on an open-access basis to all telecoms retailers in Ireland. SIRO has formed partnerships with Vodafone, BT, enet, Carnsore Broadband, Digiweb, Rocket Broadband and WestNet, with more retailers expected to come on board as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market.
What will SIRO mean to the people of Carlow? See their reaction here.