8,000 Homes in Enniscorthy and Gorey to get SIRO Fibre Broadband By End of 2021

SIRO, the joint venture between ESB and Vodafone, rolling out a new national 100% fibre broadband network across Ireland has today announced that the company is bringing fibre broadband to an additional 8,000 homes and businesses in Enniscorthy and Gorey. With this roll-out commencing in July; overall, SIRO is on a target to pass almost 20,000 premises across Wexford by end 2021. Demand for high-speed broadband is greater than ever and SIRO’s 1 Gigabit fibre broadband is providing families and businesses with faster video streaming service, a seamless work from home experience and ability to work on multiple devices without lags. SIRO’s fibre rollout in Wexford commenced in September 2016. Already close to 11.5K homes have been connected in County Wexford, including the towns of Enniscorthy, Courtown and Wexford town itself. An additional 8,000 homes and businesses in Enniscorthy and Gorey (and a small number in Wexford town where SIRO has already rolled out) will be passed by the company in the coming months - reaching close to 20K homes passed by SIRO by end of 2021. The total level of investment in the SIRO’s Wexford fibre broadband roll-out is more than €10 million. Ronan Whelan, Chief Commercial Officer, SIRO remarked, “Wexford was one of our first counties in which SIRO commenced our national roll-out, so it’s a significant milestone for the company that we will reach 20,000 homes passed by year end.  We are pleased that SIRO’s roll-out continued even during Covid-19 restrictions, particularly as broadband was needed more than ever by Wexford communities over the last 15 months. “As more businesses migrate online, the world emerging post COVID-19 demands connectivity and a broadband service which matches the fastest and most reliable services found anywhere in Ireland, indeed globally.  Fibre broadband meets this standard and is also future proofed for ever growing data demands. Outdated and slower copper connections are no longer good enough and are holding individuals and businesses back in doing their everyday, but essential, tasks online.”

Almost 400,000 Premises Now Available on the SIRO Network

Over the past five years, SIRO has rolled out fibre broadband to 64 towns across Ireland, passing almost 400,000 homes and businesses in the process. SIRO’s fibre broadband network utilises the ESB’s existing electrical network, ensuring greater reliability and a greener network. SIRO draws on both ESB’s heritage and on-the-ground knowledge and Vodafone’s telecoms expertise to roll out its fibre network. Fibre broadband ensures higher speeds, superior quality, and reliability far beyond what copper connections, being phased out across the world, offer. The company also noted the ongoing work by Wexford County Council in promoting increased remote working in the county by those who, pre-pandemic, commuted to cities such as Dublin and to encourage Dublin-based companies to consider locating in the county. Ronan Whelan noted:

“The position taken by Wexford County Council makes complete sense. People want lower costs of living, less commuting and a better quality of life. Wexford has so much to offer in these areas such as high-quality office accommodation, affordable housing, great quality of life and all within relatively close distance of Dublin. The final piece of the jigsaw to make it happen is broadband connectivity. Fibre broadband is the gamechanger in shifting people and investment back into regional Ireland, with SIRO’s roll-out to 64 regional towns including those in Wexford, working to that objective.”

SIRO is a wholesale provider, meaning homeowners in Co Wexford can avail of SIRO-backed fibre broadband through 7 different operators which are Sky, Vodafone, Digiweb, Blacknight, Pure Telecom, Rocket Broadband and Carnsore Broadband. Businessowners can also receive SIRO through Rocket Broadband, Vodafone, Pure Telecom, Carnsore Broadband and Blacknight. To check if your home or business can upgrade its connection to 100% Fibre-To-The-Premise Gigabit broadband, search your Eircode today.

On 17 June last, SIRO brought together a range of experts from the Irish video gaming industry, as part of our webinar “Gaming for Growth”. With diverse speakers from game development, eSports promotion and the IDA, the event explored if and how Ireland can grow the sector here further. The context to asking the question was important. The global video gaming industry is huge, valued at €140 billion annually. This makes it’s value twice that of the music, TV and film industries combined. It’s also an industry experiencing unprecedented global growth; up to 10% year-on-year. These numbers alone should make all stakeholders focused on economic growth and job creation sit up and take notice. Financial muscle apart, video gaming growth is now pervasive; it’s immersion across society evident all around us. Video games, already a significant consumer product before Covid-19, strengthened their market share of the entertainment sector even more during the pandemic. A recent Deloitte study  found that “87% of Generation Z, 83% of Millennials, and 79% of Generation X said they play video games on devices such as smartphones, gaming consoles, or computers at least weekly”. Equally interesting is who are now consuming video games. Here again, traditional perceptions no longer hold true with a rapid increase in female gamers. A 2019 study in the U.S finding that 46% of all gamers in the U.S. are female. A further key consideration about the industry’s growth is that it is now much more than just about mass entertainment. Gamification of multiple aspects of life, work or business is now standard. Take retail, eBay were one of the first to push gamification across a retail eCommerce platform. It’s competitive bidding system, buyer-seller feedback, and power of seller statuses turned eBay into a gamified platform. Others have followed, with Amazon applying gamification components albeit more subtly, in areas such as rating reviews or trusted sellers. Gamification is now also common in recruitment - used to test the aptitude of candidates or to give a better sense of the role with video simulation exercises. The U.S Army was one of the first to embrace this idea, providing would-be recruits with a gamified version of military exercises. In the UK, Asda trains staff with a smartphone game which simulates a store setting and customer conversations. Gamification has social applications too, increasingly used in healthcare for everything from surgical training to mental health and wellness programmes. In education too, the use of video games is now well embedded as part of the overall learning experience. These examples point to the diversification of video gaming stretching into expanding use cases. Add-in ever improving connectivity and reduced latency due to fibre broadband, as companies like SIRO roll-out high-speed fibre broadband, and the opportunity for Ireland to level up and grow the industry here further comes into focus. Ireland is not starting from a standing position. We have performed relatively well in developing the sector. Several of the bigger global players are already here, names like Activision or EA, in addition to a community of homegrown game development companies. Yet contributors at the SIRO video gaming event, noted the significant opportunity for Ireland to grab a much larger slice of the global video gaming pie. Key to this is supporting our indigenous game development companies to grow and scale. A template already exists. Internationally countries, such as France or Canada, who have rolled out ambitious national programmes have succeeded in creating world-leading domestic video gaming industries. Positively, their efforts have not gone unnoticed. As part of his Budget 2021 speech Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, announced that from January 2022 the video gaming sector would be able to avail of a tax relief scheme akin to the existing reliefs enjoyed by our film sector. The details are under discussion. The latter has been hugely instrumental in making Ireland a destination of choice for the film industry, creating a thriving local film sector. The hope is that, for the video gaming sector, it could have a similar impact. Though the proposed tax measures have been welcomed by the industry, a legitimate question has been raised by some industry players about the extent of the relief. In Canada, it’s possible for smaller game studios to receive financial assistance to support up to 40% of employees’ wages during their formative years. It’s a recognition that early-stage game studios can often have a couple of years with little or no revenue, in advance of securing a publishing deal. A factor attested to by John and Brenda Romero of Romero Games during the webinar when they spoke about their experiences of establishing their studio in Galway. The hope is that the Government’s proposal can be the starting point for further measures to grow video gaming development here. The return on investment for Ireland could be substantial not least because there are several factors which suggest the sector here is ripe to achieve to greater success. As noted, ever improving fibre broadband connectivity, and the ambition to reach effectively almost universal fibre coverage, makes Ireland a very attractive location for digital industries such as video gaming. Ireland’s position within the EU, as a Member State with a young, well-educated, digitally savvy and English-speaking population is another. Consider too the increasing range of creative, design and computing courses now available in our further and third level institutions. As the IDA’s Catherine Slowey pointed out a talent pipeline is key, and Ireland can point to a strong one. Yet with youth unemployment at 60%, many gifted graduates are struggling to find work right now. Covid-19 has upended many of the sectors of the economy we relied heavily on, such as hospitality and tourism. As we look to move beyond the pandemic, Ireland has a unique opportunity to reset and focus on industries which synch with an increasingly digitised world, such as video gaming. The attractiveness of Ireland to international and domestic video gaming players was best captured on the day by Brenda Romero, CEO of Romero Games, when she commented: “it made more sense to be here than it did to be in Silicon Valley...it made solid economic and solid creative sense to here [in Ireland]. We have zero regrets”. Amanda Glancy, Director of Corporate Affairs, SIRO.

SIRO Chief Commercial Officer, Ronan Whelan joins Guaranteed Irish CEO, Brid O' Connell on the Guaranteed Irish Business Podcast to discuss how in the midst of chaos there is opportunity, and our recent membership with Guaranteed Irish.  

SIRO Chief Commercial Officer Ronan Whelan: “Despite physical business closures over the past year, Irish consumers have looked to support local, Irish businesses. There is a huge opportunity for Irish businesses, post-pandemic, to continue to tap into the COVID-19 groundswell of consumer goodwill and loyalty toward Irish businesses.  However, it shouldn’t be taken for granted, with businesses still needing to improve in areas such as delivery charges and customer services”. A consumer survey undertaken by fibre broadband wholesaler, SIRO, has found high levels of support for Buying Irish amongst Irish consumers during COVID-19.  The research found that half of those surveyed indicated that they bought more Irish goods and services during the pandemic than previously and that their preference for Irish-first will continue post-COVID-19. Key findings from the research include: Importance of Buying Irish: 89% of people cite Buying Irish as being important to them, of those 37% believe it to be very important and 52% somewhat important. 11% stated they did not see it as important. Buying Irish during the pandemic: 50% of those surveyed responded that they are buying more Irish goods and services during the pandemic than they were prior to COVID-19. 41% stated the extent to which they Buy Irish is unchanged, with 7% buying less and 2% not sure. Buying Irish post-COVID-19: Of those who are buying more Irish goods and services during the pandemic, 79% say they will continue to prioritise Buying Irish after the pandemic has ended; with 19% not sure and 2% saying they will buy less. Support for Buying Irish amongst age groups and genders: Those 18-30 years of age are significantly more likely to see Buying Irish as ‘very important’ relative to older age groups. Equally of those surveyed, women were more likely to Buy Irish than men. Although no notable regional differences emerged. Reasons for Choosing Irish: The top three reasons are Buying Irish goods and services cited by respondents were supporting Irish and local businesses at 82%, the quality of goods and services at 63% and avoiding import taxes and charges at 49%. Most frustrating aspects of Buying Irish: The most common issues amongst respondents were delivery charges at 66% and customer services issues at 38%. Finally, when asked about choosing a broadband provider 34% surveyed had switched provider in the past year, with a desire for higher speeds and better value being the most cited reasons. Commenting on the survey results, SIRO Chief Commercial Officer Ronan Whelan noted: “What comes through so clearly in our research is that, despite physical business closures over the past year, Irish consumers in large numbers have looked to support local, Irish businesses, such as through online or click and collect services. This support for local and Irish has been pivotal in keeping many businesses afloat during the darkest days of COVID-19. “As Ireland now looks to recover and rebuild keeping this support engaged will be crucial. There is a huge opportunity for businesses to continue to tap into the COVID-19 groundswell of consumer goodwill and loyalty toward Irish businesses, once the pandemic has passed. “However, customer loyalty is earned and shouldn’t be taken for granted, with businesses still needing to continuously innovate and improve in areas such as delivery charges and customer services. “Today, SIRO is excited to announce that we are joining Guaranteed Irish. It’s a natural fit for SIRO. As an Irish company with a footprint across Ireland and through our work in connecting homes and business to high quality fibre broadband, like Guaranteed Irish, we have a shared objective of empowering Irish businesses to prosper and grow”. Guaranteed Irish CEO Bríd O’Connell stated: “I am delighted to welcome SIRO on board. As Ireland’s leading fibre optic broadband network, SIRO embraces our core values of building sustainable communities through enterprise, backing local jobs, and supporting homegrown Irish businesses to recover and grow. These values are showcased through SIRO’s commitment to connecting homes and businesses to high quality fibre broadband, in turn benefiting our local economy and supporting Irish jobs particularly in communities throughout the country.”

SIRO, the wholesale joint venture between ESB and Vodafone, have today announced that they have now rolled out their best-in-class gigabit fibre broadband to over 43,000 homes and businesses in Cork city and county. The company also announced that an additional 11,500 premises will be passed by the end of this year, bringing the total number to just under 55,000 or a third of all homes and businesses in Cork. Initially announced in 2017 by then Tánaiste and Minister for Transport, Simon Coveney, SIRO ambitiously set out to make Cork the “Broadband Capital of Ireland”. Since then, SIRO has been actively building a new national telecoms infrastructure right across Cork city and the wider county. SIRO’s network now stretches right across Cork city from Ballincollig, Glasheen, Bishopstown Douglas and Rochestown to Glanmire and within the county to towns such as Mallow, Midleton or Skibbereen. Nationally, SIRO has passed 375,000 homes and businesses right across regional Ireland. The SIRO network delivers 100% fibre all the way into the home or building, with no copper at any point all the way. This a high-quality, reliable and fast connection, with no slow down when multiple devices are working simultaneously, with equal download and upload speeds. Notwithstanding the restrictions due to COVID-19, SIRO has continued its fibre broadband roll-out across Cork during the pandemic. The need for connectivity amidst a global pandemic has motivated the company to further expedite their rollouts wherever possible. Cork residents, like those in every town and city across Ireland over the last 12 months, have had a huge demand for high quality broadband to enable remote working and trading online for local businesses, home schooling, movie and video streaming or online shopping. SIRO’s network has underpinned a new normal of large file sharing, video calls and live collaborative spaces. The company sees that even as the country opens up from lockdown that these trends will grow rather than revert to old ways of living and working. Commenting on the announcement, Cork Build Manager, Tricia McElliot said:

“We are delighted with the progress SIRO and our partner CBE have made in making Cork city and county. The efforts made by our dedicated build team and contractors is something that is commendable, especially as construction ceased temporarily as a result of the pandemic. Connectivity is not just for the pandemic, and SIRO’s 100% FTTP broadband aims to future proof homes and businesses for future data demand.”

John Keaney, SIRO CEO and Chair of Telecommunications Industry Ireland elaborated:

“SIRO are dedicated to our roll out in Cork City and County. Our roll out in the past year has been remotivated by the onslaught of COVID-19 and as a wholesaler, we are committed to delivering  resilient, quality FTTP broadband for homes and businesses across Cork. By the end of 2021, we will see approx. 55,000 homes and businesses across the Rebel County connected as part of our Phase One roll out, with plans to further develop our roll out across the county. Life is different now, and Cork’s broadband landscape is too."

SIRO is available to order from homes and businesses from the following retailers in Cork: Vodafone, Sky, Digiweb, PureTelecom, Nova Broadband and Viatel. Search your Eircode and find out if your home or business is SIRO ready.

SIRO, the joint venture between ESB and Vodafone, has today announced that they have reached a new milestone in Galway city of 25,000 homes and businesses passed. This milestone means that homes and businesses in Galway city and surrounding areas can now avail of the best-in-class fibre broadband connectivity. Notwithstanding the restrictions due to COVID-19, SIRO has continued its fibre broadband roll-out across Galway city during the pandemic. Over the last six months from September 2020 to end March 2021, SIRO rolled out fibre to 10,000 additional homes and business. The need for connectivity amidst a global pandemic has motivated the company to further expedite their rollouts wherever possible. Galway residents, like those in every town and city across Ireland over the last 12 months, have had a huge demand for high quality broadband to enable remote working and trading online for local businesses, home schooling, movie and video streaming or online shopping. Nationally, SIRO has passed 375,000 homes and businesses right across regional Ireland. In July 2019, SIRO commenced a €20m investment in rolling out the gold standard of connectivity to homes and businesses in Galway city, as part of its wider national fibre rollout programme. Less than two years on, SIRO’s fibre network is now available right across the city from east to west including: Oranmore and Oranhill, Roscam and Renmore, Ballybrit and Ballybane, Castlegar, Mervue and Salthill, Rockbarton, Shantalla and Rahoon, and Knocknacarra to Kingston. Tricia McElligott, SIRO’s Build Manager, responsible for the rollout of fibre in Galway remarked:

“Hitting the milestone of 25,000 homes and businesses passed in the city; and 10,000 over the last six months alone, is significant. Access to high quality broadband has never been so important to our communities and businesses. It has provided a lifeline to Galway businesses allowing them to trade online while their doors have remains closed, individuals to continue to work and for families and loved ones, physically separated, to remain virtually connected. “SIRO’s build team is incredibly proud to have played a small part in keeping Galway’s businesses and communities connected, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic”.

SIRO’s fibre-optic cables are faster and more reliable than copper cables, and households as well as businesses can now avail of speed up to 1Gb. Once connected, customers can choose from a variety of operators who are serving Galway city. The five operators available for homeowner are Digiweb, Sky, Vodafone, Airwire, and Pure Telecom. While four operators are available for businesses which are Digiweb, Viatel, Vodafone and Airwire. Commenting on the announcement, SIRO’s CEO John Keaney noted:

“Old copper networks are no longer fit for purpose and are leaving homes and businesses in the slow lane.  Across Ireland, reliable and fast internet with higher bandwidth is a necessity not luxury which adds an enormous responsibility in the work that we do. “Galway has always been a great and vibrant city. Fibre broadband provides a strong foundation for the continued development of the city and its businesses post-Covid, with enhanced connectivity also futureproofing the city for decades to come. So, the rollout of fibre in Galway city is an important part of SIRO’s ambitious plan for the country. “For SIRO, our roll-out is continuing but we’d urge all homeowners and businesses struggling with online connectivity to check if fibre broadband is now available in their area.”

Search your Eircode today and see if your home or business is SIRO ready.

Our CEO John Keaney delivered a keynote speech at the 2021 Rebooting Ireland virtual event on how 100% fibre can fast track recovery and growth post Covid-19. John discussed how Covid-19 has supercharged inevitable change in consumer behaviour, business operations and new ways of working, which accelerate the need for high-speed fibre connectivity. As we move into our 'new normal', 100% fibre connection is a critical element in ensuring the growth and recovery of Irish businesses and the Irish economy

The Tara Care Centre in Bray is ensuring its elderly residents can connect virtually with family and friends despite Covid-19 restrictions after being connected by Viatel to SIRO’s Gigabit broadband network. The broadband upgrade is also a key part of the centre’s strategy to collaborate with the HSE as part of the ongoing vaccination programme and its general engagement with health authorities. With a spike in broadband usage as a result of families video calling loved ones and more of the centre’s operations shifting online since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Tara Care Centre needed to quickly upgrade its connection. Viatel and SIRO quickly responded to the request, expediting the installation given the critical role the centre plays in the community. While Covid-19 may have changed how families and friends can connect with loved ones, the Tara Care Centre has strived to guarantee their 47 residents’ experience is still as comfortable as possible, ensuring that they can connect to the outside world with video calls, access services from the nearby Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church online and celebrate special occasions. The SIRO network will enable residents to contact loved ones from the comfort of their own rooms, instead of needing to be reliant being nearby to a wifi router. Access to the SIRO network is also crucial for the Tara Care Centre as part of their ongoing Covid-19 testing regime and participation in the vaccination programme given the volume of information that is submitted on an ongoing basis. The centre’s management can now instantly access and upload the necessary information in seconds to ensure the safety of residents and staff, with no risk of delayed communication from health authorities due to slow broadband speeds. 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. For context, downloading a high definition movie that is 4 gigabytes in size with a standard 10 Mbps connection would usually take an hour. In contrast, it takes 30 seconds with SIRO’s Gigabit broadband. So multiple simultaneous video calls by residents from the Tara Care Centre to family members is seamless because of the reliability of the SIRO network. Commenting on the new connection, Director of the Tara Care Centre Paul Costello said: “SIRO has been nothing short of transformational in terms of how we and our residents connect with the outside world. It would not have been possible if it wasn’t for Viatel’s quick response and prioritising our connection which we are very grateful for. As a result, we can ensure that despite being apart, our residents can stay close to their loved ones by being able to connect with them at the touch of a button.” SIRO CEO John Keaney added: “County Wicklow has been part of our national rollout, so we have seen first hand how much of a difference broadband connectivity makes to people’s lives, even more so since the outbreak of the pandemic last year. So when we got the call for assistance from the Tara Care Centre in terms of their need for better broadband to run their facility, we knew we had to make them a priority given that this is a time when not everyone can be at home with their family. Everyone has to do life differently at the moment, but at least we’ve been able to ensure that things like talking to a relative or being part of a church service is still a possibility.” Damien McCann, Head of Sales and Marketing with Viatel acknowledges that while a rapid response is all part of a day’s work the Tara Care Centre was a very special project. “Many of our customers need to be connected as soon as possible – they might be waiting to open new premises or start production. We work with many healthcare clients and we are very familiar with the clinical side of their connectivity needs. Covid cast the Tara project in a whole other light- what could be more urgent than getting these residents time with their families? We were so glad to help out.”

Cartoon Saloon was in the final stages of completing “Wolfwalkers”, one of the most eagerly anticipated animated features of the year, when COVID-19 broke out. Working with its broadband partner Blacknight, the Oscar-nominated animation studio was able to connect to SIRO’s Gigabit 100% fibre broadband network, the gold standard for internet connectivity, to ensure that a remote working solution could be put in place to enable them to put the finishing touches to their latest movie and other shows. While hundreds of thousands are working remotely across Ireland, connectivity into the office has never been more important in terms of a company’s ability to serve their remote workforce. By connecting Cartoon Saloon’s studio in Kilkenny to SIRO’s Fibre-to-the-Building network this has doubled their bandwidth speed and increased the reliability and performance, enabling the company to provide access to large files and office applications remotely via a secure VPN solution as well as enabling employees, clients and partners access and share very large files across the globe. Commenting on the partnership, Mark Mullery, Studio Technical Director, Cartoon Saloon, and Assistant Director of the new feature, Wolfwalkers said: “Gigabit broadband enabled new ways of working, giving us the capability to quickly share content with any corner of the globe, whether it’s Hollywood or Beijing. Reliable and fast remote access has been crucial since the initial lockdown and Blacknight were able to provide us with a seamless solution with SIRO’s Gigabit broadband service. As a result, we have been able to put the finishing touches to our latest feature with minimal delay.” Michele Neylon, CEO and Co-founder, Blacknight added: “Remote workers have to be able to have the same digital experience no matter where they are working from and we have been able to provide Cartoon Saloon with the perfect solution thanks to SIRO’s Gigabit broadband network. Being able to tailor services for our customers specific needs has always been what has made Blacknight stand out from the competition, with the speed and capability of our rollout for Cartoon Saloon highlighting how we are helping businesses succeed despite COVID-19.” Ronan Whelan, SIRO’s Chief Commercial Officer, also commented: “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, SIRO has been helping people and businesses across the country do life differently. Our Gigabit broadband network is on a par with what is available in Tokyo, which means that Cartoon Saloon’s employees and clients across the world have been able to successfully collaborate seamlessly using online services. The increased speed and reliability of their office internet link has been crucial to this success, as has employees improving the speed and reliability of their home internet by connecting to our Gigabit broadband.” With nearly 100,000 customers across the globe, Blacknight is known as a market leader in the provision of hosting and co-location services ranging from small single web site hosting to complex backup, connectivity, colocation and security solutions. As a SIRO retail partner, Blacknight is able to offer SME and Enterprise customers access to the wholesale broadband provider’s €450 million Gigabit broadband network, which is 100% Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) and has no copper connections at any point to slow the service down. No other connection can compare with 100% fibre, which supports symmetric speeds of 1 Gigabit, 50 times the upload speeds of traditional copper networks. The SIRO network now covers 351,000 premises, with services now live or under construction in 21 counties across the country. SIRO is offered on an open-access basis to all telecoms retailers in Ireland. 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. For context, downloading a high definition movie that is 4 gigabytes in size with a standard 10 Mbps connection would usually take an hour. In contrast, it takes 30 seconds with SIRO’s Gigabit broadband. Find out more about the SIRO 100% Fibre Network for Business.

ESB Telecoms Ltd has partnered with SIRO to roll out a nationwide end-to-end ethernet network service. The launch of the new service offering– the Ethernet Tail Extension – will allow telecoms operators to provide their commercial customers with high-speed business connectivity. This service will be made available in 13 urban markets across all 4 provinces and will provide national synchronous ethernet bandwidth solutions between 100Mb and 1Gb. ESB Telecoms Ltd, the wholesale telecommunications provider, has provided flexible fibre and tower solutions to the industry for more than 20 years. In this latest product offering, fibre optic backhaul will be used to connect to SIRO’s network access and provide telecom operators with an end-to-end solution. As well as high-speed connectivity, this new product will enable telecom operators to transfer data from their customer’s premises back to a data centre offsite without having to pay for additional costly infrastructure development or separate backhaul solutions. The Ethernet Tail Extension offering will also allow telecoms operators to expand into new coverage areas and broaden their reach nationwide.

Gigabit Broadband is Essential for Business Operations

Commenting on the Partnership, Managing Director of ESB Telecoms, Rory McGowan, noted: “Irish business organisations are adapting their IT environments faster than ever before in order to address the challenges and opportunities created by an increasingly digital world. These companies require super reliable and ultrafast connections from their telecoms service providers to transmit the mission critical data that is becoming their lifeblood” Rory added, “In order to enhance our support to our customers and Irish businesses in general, we are delighted to announce the launch of our Ethernet Tail Extension product, in partnership with SIRO, which will allow our customers to adapt, grow and thrive in a changing world at the most competitive cost.” Identifying the need to provide a nationwide solution, ESB Telecoms partnered with SIRO to maximise the provider’s expanding network. For end-users, the guaranteed speeds of 1Gb in both directions is essential for cloud connectivity, video streams and business continuity purposes SIRO’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ronan Whelan, added “We are delighted to partner with ESB Telecoms to deliver our fastest ever enterprise product, providing uncontended speeds to businesses across Ireland. This latest partnership is another example of how SIRO is fundamentally driving competition in the Irish broadband market. Connectivity is the nervous system of the country and COVID-19 has further emphasised the need for reliable, Fibre to the Premises broadband. Our partnership with ESB Telecoms will enable us to further support the Digital Agenda in Ireland, ensuring businesses can perform to the best of their ability without archaic copper technology slowing them down.” The Ethernet Tail Extension is now available from ESB Telecoms Ltd. For more information please contact salesenquiries@esbtelecoms.ie.