All Fibre Connections are Not Created Equal: The Importance of Transparency in Broadband Marketing

In October 2019, The Advertising Authority Standard for Ireland (ASAI) published guidelines regulating the use of the term ‘fibre’ in broadband advertising - broadband providers are required to specify whether their product is 100% Fibre, Part Fibre or All Copper. The ruling took effect from 1 December 2019. SIRO fully supports these guidelines and we encourage all consumers to actively seek information on the broadband service you’re buying. Stephen O'Connor, SIRO Director of Corporate Affairs, discusses how the new guidelines will enable greater transparency for the end consumers and benefit the development of FTTH in Ireland. Broadband as we know it is changing. As we consume more and more data, copper based broadband is increasingly unfit for purpose and is a fading technology which is being “switched off” in many countries. Full fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband is now considered globally as the gold standard of connectivity. Consumers look to ‘fibre’ for speed and reliability, yet many in Ireland are still unclear about what they are getting when they order a ‘fibre’ broadband service. In 2018, SIRO commissioned Kantar Millward Brown (KMB) to conduct market research investigating, amongst other things, consumer perception and understanding of the term ‘fibre’ in broadband marketing. This research found that over half of respondents were confused by the different uses of the term ‘fibre’ (e.g. ‘fibre-powered’, ‘fibre broadband’, ‘100% fibre’ etc.) in marketing campaigns (KMB, on behalf of SIRO). One respondent even believed that 100% fibre technology was only available “in the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong”. Telecom Regulator, ComReg, publishes a report each quarter on Irish household broadband subscriptions. There were 1.4m fixed subscriptions at the end of March and just over 900,000 of these are described as “DSL/VDSL (Digital Subscriber Line)” which sounds like advanced technology but are delivered in part over old copper lines. The thing is that many of these customers have purchased a broadband product with ‘fibre’ in its name unaware of the true nature of their connection. This lack of transparency is the issue that the Advertising Standard Authority for Ireland (ASAI)’s guidance note seeks to address. There is undoubtedly a demand for the “real" 100% fibre broadband in Ireland. Since SIRO launched, Irish FTTH subscriptions have grown from 8,000 in January 2017 to 108,000 subscriptions in March 2019, making it by far the fastest growing market segment.

The Importance of Transparency in Advertising

Currently there is little differentiation between part-fibre and full fibre networks in marketing and this has clouded the perception of 100% fibre among consumers. With a fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connection, the presence of copper even in the last few metres between the street cabinet and the home significantly reduces internet speed. For example, the highest consistent speed with FTTC is less than 100 mbps (megabits per second), whereas a fibre to the home (FTTH) from SIRO delivers a reliable, consistent 1,000 mbps (or 1 Gigabit per second). According to the KMB research, speed remains the determining factor in consumer choice of broadband service but accurate speed information isn’t readily available, instead substituted by phrases like “lightning fast” or “superfast”. Consumers deserve transparency when purchasing any product and broadband advertising is no different. According to our research, 73% of consumers would like a “quality broadband mark” that guarantees the types of service they would receive. The new guidelines published yesterday stipulate that suppliers have to describe the network that the service is delivered across - 100% Fibre, Part Fibre or all Copper. This important change will help to provide clarity to consumers.

Developments in Europe

France was the pioneer in regulating broadband marketing. Since 2016 operators in France are under legal obligation to disclose how much of their network is Fibre if that term is used. For example: “The connection of the home is not all optical fibre but a mixture of Copper & Fibre…” In 2018, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCOM) found that retailers were misusing the term “fibra” (fibre) in their advertisements, and fined the offenders more than €13m. AGCOM ruled that from January 2019 retailers could not advertise “fibra” unless the full line was fibre and must say “Fibre on a copper mixed network” if its only part-fibre. A key policy objective of the European Commission is the establishment of the Digital Single Market (DSM) where EU citizens and businesses could avail of all the economic and societal benefits of the Gigabit society. These benefits can only be realised if there is widespread roll out and adoption of high speed broadband across the EU28. In September 2016, EU connectivity targets were set as follows: All schools, public services and enterprises would have access to 1 GB (1,000 MB) connectivity by 2025 and that all households would have access to a minimum of 100Mbps, upgradable to 1 GB. These targets and the realisation of an inclusive Gigabit society requires adequate and future-proofed infrastructure in place in all member states (European Commission). To this end, the new European Electronic Communications Code (EECC which will be transposed into Irish Law by December 2020) promotes and prioritises both the rollout and take-up of Very High Capacity Broadband networks (VHCN). Adoption of Very High Capacity networks like FTTH is jeopardised when consumers are confused by misuse of the word “fibre” in marketing. This in turn undermines the investment case for alterative operators considering building new high capacity networks – why invest millions of euro in capital in a superior network if all operators are allowed market themselves as “Fibre”?

The FTTH Council Europe are Calling for Change

This is an opinion which is shared by the FTTH Council Europe, which wrote an open letter to European Council ministers on the importance of transparency in broadband advertising. The Council argued that if a consumer believes they have a fibre connection, they are unlikely to change it, however, when consumers “are aware of the differences between 100% fibre and copper connections, they ultimately choose fibre”. This risks undermining both the aims of the new Code (access to and take up of Very High Capacity Networks) and the Digital Single Market. SIRO supports the ASAI’s new guidelines. The data usage needs of consumers are changing and they need transparent, reliable information to choose the network that suits those needs. Additionally, investors need assurance that if they finance and build the new high quality networks that Europe needs then they can differentiate that service when it goes to market. While it has been argued that using the terms “part” and “full” fibre may confuse consumers, the introduction of more accurate advertisements allows consumers to make a fully informed decision when choosing their connection.

The SIRO-Powered Brand Mark

Having access to reliable, high-speed broadband is vital as we continue to work, study, and socialise from home using a multitude of devices. The SIRO 100% fibre network guarantees excellent speeds and a connection that you can rely on when you need it most. We have partnered with the three most popular price comparison sites in Ireland - Bonkers, Choosey and Switcher – to show the SIRO-Powered Badge when our network is available in your home. When you see the SIRO badge, you can be confident that our internationally recognised gold-standard broadband technology comes all the way into your home. We want you to know that you are getting SIRO 100% fibre broadband installed in your home on business. Over 355,000 homes and businesses across regional Ireland now have access to SIRO broadband. So the next time you're looking for the best broadband deal online, make sure to look out for the SIRO-Powered badge to ensure you're getting the best broadband technology available in Ireland. For more information on FTTC vs FTTH, read our ‘Top 5 Fibre Myths Busted’ article. To check if you can avail of SIRO, visit siro.ie/search-your-address

Pure Telecom, Ireland’s high-speed broadband and telecoms provider, today announces that it has signed a deal with BT Ireland that will provide Pure Telecom with access to SIRO’s nationwide high-speed fibre broadband network, consisting of 338,000 premises across Ireland to date. As SIRO continues to connect urban and regional premises with Gigabit broadband, the BT deal – worth up to €10M – will allow Pure Telecom to expand its reach countrywide. BT won the highly competitive tender for its established network capability and excellent track record in delivering a leading edge service to Ireland’s wholesale broadband providers. Under the deal, BT will provide Pure Telecom with a comprehensive managed service, that helps bring its ultrafast broadband “Fibre to the Premises” (FTTP) product offering to the market. The service will be made available across Ireland at every location where there are FTTP services are available. The infrastructure agreement will help Pure Telecom to solidify its position as a major competitor in the Irish broadband market by driving down costs for consumers. The company has experienced a 30% increase in demand for its broadband services since the outbreak of COVID-19, which has been the catalyst for a rapid and widespread shift to remote working. Through its strategic partnerships, Pure Telecom can access existing and new broadband infrastructure across Ireland, enabling it to bring high-speed broadband to rural and urban premises as soon as it becomes available. With more people working from home, a reliable, uninterrupted high-speed broadband service is increasingly important. The SIRO Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network covers more than 338,000 homes and businesses in 45 towns around Ireland. Because FTTH technology has no copper connection (which can cause congestion and slow speeds) it delivers a 1 Gigabit (1,000 Megabit) internet connection which can take care of anyone’s remote working and personal needs. As a result, there is no impact on the quality of service if a household has multiple devices in use at one time with data intensive services like video conferencing or streaming content. Paul Connell, CEO, Pure Telecom, said: “At Pure Telecom, we are consistently striving to get more people and businesses access to high-speed broadband. Too many homes and businesses in Ireland still don’t have fast internet access and it is detrimental to our society and economy – particularly at a time when everyone has been advised to work from home where possible. We have observed a significant increase in demand for our services since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced and we expect these to have a permanent impact on how people work and where. It has therefore never been more important for people to have the high-speed connectivity they need to work productively from their homes. “By partnering with BT, we will be one of the first providers to offer high-speed broadband to Irish towns and villages who previously didn’t have access. SIRO has been very proactive in its rollout of 100% fibre-optic technology and we look forward to being able to offer it to even more customers.” Peter Evans, Director of Wholesale, BT Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Pure Telecom and SIRO to bring yet more choice and connectivity to broadband users across Ireland, particularly in more regional towns. In the wake of COVID-19, as people have come to depend more on technology to communicate than ever before, it’s important that consumers and businesses have a wide range of services to choose from that best suit their needs.” Ronan Whelan, Chief Commercial Officer, SIRO, said: “COVID-19 has fundamentally changed how we work and live, so the importance of fast, reliable broadband has never been more evident. With 100% fibre-optic FTTH technology, SIRO’s Gigabit broadband is the most powerful in Ireland, helping people do life differently. This latest agreement highlights how SIRO is driving competition in the broadband market and helping to combat the digital divide that currently exists in Ireland. Pure Telecom’s commitment to provide customers with the best connectivity, competitive pricing and best-in-class service through our wholesale network is great news for residential and business customers throughout the country.”

New data from SIRO, based on usage of its broadband network, has shown that broadband usage levels have dipped by over 10% in recent weeks as a result of the reopening of schools. There is a direct link between the drop in demand and the typical school run time between 08.15 and 09.00 on weekdays, in contrast to when schools were shut, with data usage higher during that period. Similarly, an evening spike in data usage now happens at 21.40 in the evenings, thirty minutes earlier than usual, due to children going to sleep earlier at night. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the average household’s data usage has rise to over 16 Gigabytes per day, which is the equivalent of downloading four High Definition movies on a daily basis. Naturally with the majority of people still continuing to work from home, data usage during the day had increased as a result of households using services like Zoom, Netflix, Disney Plus and Fortnite. The top three busiest locations on the SIRO broadband network were Cork, Limerick and Dublin North West respectively. Cork and Limerick are neck and neck, with Limerick’s data usage coming in higher last Monday and Tuesday, but with the Rebel County ultimately topping the chart. There was similar levels of high usage in Newbridge and Drogheda, coming in fourth and fifth in terms of using, but with both locations alternating for fourth spot every other day. Commenting on the data, Ronan Whelan, Chief Commercial Officer of SIRO, said: “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, broadband usage has fundamentally changed as our kitchens became our home office and school suddenly switched to the living room. Remote working is now a reality and there is no doubt that even after the pandemic ends, that we will move to a new way of working, alternating our workdays between the office and our home. It has also proven that Gigabit broadband is the future, as Fibre-to-the-Home technology is able to cater for the demand of households using multiple devices during the course of the day, so there’s no chance of your video conference call dropping, when someone in another room decides to watch a show on a streaming service.”

The SIRO 100% Fibre Network

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. The SIRO network now covers 340,000 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.  SIRO has formed partnerships with Vodafone, Sky, Digiweb, Pure Telecom, Carnsore Broadband, Airwire, Kerry Broadband and Rocket Broadband, with more retailers expected to come on board as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market.

SIRO, the open-access wholesale broadband provider delivering Ireland’s first 100% fibre-optic broadband network, has announced that its Gigabit broadband services are now available to over 15,000 homes and businesses in Galway city and the surrounding area after construction began last year. Services are already live through SIRO’s retail partners in Galway city, Oranmore, Ballybane, Doughiska, Roscam, Knocknacarra, Salthill, Renmore, Rahoon, Oranhill, Shantalla, Mervue, Ballybrit, Murrough and Castlegar. The €20 million construction project is already halfway through its rollout, with its Gigabit broadband services to be made available to another 15,000 premises. Development of the 100% fibre broadband network is being led by TLI Group – SIRO’s construction partner – who are contacting residents and business owners of premises due to be included in the next stage of the rollout.

High-Speed Broadband Available in Galway

SIRO’s Gigabit connectivity enables Galway residents and businesses to avail of Fibre-to-the-Building technology, which is recognised as the gold standard for broadband connectivity internationally. 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. Anyone wishing to avail of SIRO’s services can simply visit SIRO.ie and enter their Eircode to see if their premises is connected, before contacting one of their retail partners in Galway – Sky, Vodafone, Digitweb, Pure Telecom or Airwire –  to sign up. Commenting on the latest milestone, SIRO Director of Corporate Affairs, Stephen O Connor said “SIRO’s 100% fibre broadband provides the speed and reliability for you to do life different. SIRO is 100% fibre all the way into the home, with no copper at any point in the network, offering ultrafast speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second. There’s no limit to how many devices you can connect without slowing down performance. As a result, anyone connected in Galway will have the same world class broadband experience that is available in Tokyo.” 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. The SIRO network now covers 340,000, 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.  SIRO has formed partnerships with Vodafone, Sky, Digiweb, Pure Telecom, Carnsore Broadband, Airwire, Kerry Broadband and Rocket Broadband  with more retailers expected to come on board as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market. To check if you can avail of SIRO, visit siro.ie/search-your-eircode

Life is different now in ways we’d never think possible. Living all aspects of our lives within the confines of our homes - working, keeping fit, socialising and staying in touch - might have started out as a temporary consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet will likely become part of the ‘new normal’ world post COVID-19. We are building a 100% fibre broadband network and at the heart of our business lies a mission: to facilitate positive changes in people’s lives. When daily lives revolve so much around the computer screen, we saw an opportunity to do our part in helping Irish people adjust to the new reality of living our lives through the screen. As part of our Do Life Different campaign, we have curated a series of virtual backgrounds that you can use for Zoom, the super popular videoconferencing platform. The backgrounds cater for many situations and preferences: the home office worker can get an office-looking background, the fitness enthusiasts can set themselves in a gym, the outgoing type can be a in a pub or a café. If you live in a crowded apartment, why not get your own empty kitchen space, or better yet, designer walk-in closets. All backgrounds are available for both desktop and mobile. In particular, we have chosen two backgrounds that reflect the reality we’re living in: the fox taking a casual stroll on Ha'Penny Bridge, and the beautiful Anne’s Lane in Dublin – completely empty except for its fabulous colourfull umbrellas. These have been our most popular downloads. So there you have it, a collection of Zoom virtual backgrounds for however you want to live your everyday life. In providing these, we hope to play a small part in helping you Do Life Different, whatever your ‘new normal’ will look like.

SIRO – Connectivity for When You Need Us Most.

Monday, April 13^th marks 1 month since the first COVID-19 restrictions were announced in Ireland. Our world has changed dramatically. As Ireland’s busiest towns and cities went into lockdown, hundreds of thousands of people have been working from home, educating children, staying in touch and keeping entertained on various online platforms. Up to 30% more people are reported to be using broadband since the beginning of the lockdown period (Irish Examiner) Broadband is designated as ‘essential services’, and connectivity is crucial in this unprecedented time. As part of our pledge to keep Ireland connected during COVID-19, we have continued to roll out the SIRO network across the country, and have introduced strict measures for our build and installation process. As of April 2020, SIRO fibre broadband is available in 320,000 homes and businesses all over Ireland, 61,000 of them already connected to SIRO. Our Installation team completed more than 2600 appointments in March – that’s another 2600 households and businesses that can benefit from life-changing 100% fibre broadband in this critical time. We have made it our priority to connect front-line workers and essential services workers to the network so that they can perform their duties in keeping Ireland running.

No Impact of Lockdown on Network Capacity

SIRO is Ireland’s first and remains the only 100% fibre-to-the-home network. Fibre-optic cables are brought to your home via the existing ESB infrastructure with no copper at any point in the network. This significantly improves speeds and reduces congestion, as pure fibre cables have much better bandwidth and are much less prone to congestion than copper wires. Since the restrictions were first implemented on Friday 13 March, we have seen no impact of the lockdown on the SIRO network. There has been a steady but stable increase in daily average data consumption across the network – 23% between 12-31 March. With people doing most of their activities online, it comes as no surprise that consumption patterns have changed since 13 March. The graphs below outlines the pattern of data demand before and during lockdown: the biggest increase can be seen during the morning hours well into the afternoon compared to the pre-lockdown period. Data consumption also varies by tows. The busiest towns on the SIRO network are Cork, Limerick and Blanchardstown, followed by Drogheda and Newbridge. In a nutshell, life has changed significantly for all of us over the past month, and as an organisation we have had to adjust given the ongoing developments of COVID-19. Despite all these changes, we can assure you that one thing remains constant: the essential connectivity SIRO provides will continue to stay strong and stay in place, so we can play our part in keeping the people of Ireland connected throughout this difficult time.

The speed of your broadband connection largely depends on the journey the signal has to take to and from your router. There are two main technologies used in fibre-optic broadband: Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) which still uses copper at some points in the network, and Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) with 100% fibre-optic cables. But which is best? And which is a dying technology?

FTTC versus FTTH

Currently the most used technology in Ireland, Fibre-to-the-Cabinet generally delivers speeds of up to 100 Megabits per second (Mbps). The downside is the last few feet between the telephone exchange cabinet on the street and the router in your house. All that fibre-optic, light-speed goodness is lost on the last stretch of copper wire used to connect your house to the exchange. Copper is good for old school landline calls, not so good for superfast broadband signals. It literally slows the signal right down. While 100 Mbps is the maximum speed, the speed you get could be much lower depending on the distance between your home and the cabinet. SIRO is a Fibre-to-the-Home connection. This means you never lose the speed of fibre-optics – an incredible 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). We build this network along the existing ESB lines - the fibre cables run directly to your router inside your house with no loss of signal.

Reliability

Fibre-optic cables are not affected by environmental factors than can weaken signals over copper cables. For example, the signal on a copper wire drops massively over just two kilometres, whereas fibre-optic cables over the same distance is extremely reliable. And, unlike copper, fibre-optic cables are extremely resilient to heat, humidity and extreme weather conditions, making this the last broadband connection you’ll ever need.

Security

Fibre-optic cables don’t carry electricity, so they don’t radiate signals that can be tapped. Copper uses electricity and therefore is open to be tapped, which can cause the entire system to fail. A broken or damaged fibre-optic cable can be identified very quickly. A copper cable can short completely or even go on fire if it is damaged, old or worn. Source: Coppersaurus It is important to recognize the distinction between FTTC and FTTH – between a copper-based and a full fibre connection. Very often, this line is blurred due to confusing advertising messages – currently there is little differentiation between part-fibre and full-fibre networks in broadband marketing. The good news is that the Advertising Standard Authority of Ireland (ASAI) has released specific guidelines requiring broadband providers to specify if their product is 100% Fibre, Part Fibre or Full Copper. This gives the end consumers the information, clarity and transparency they so require to make a fully-informed broadband decision.

SIRO 100% Fibre - The Most Powerful Broadband in Ireland

FTTH, the technology powering SIRO broadband, has been widely recognised as the only future proofed solution and the gold standard of broadband technology. But what exactly does it mean for the end consumers? As discussed, with an FTTC connection, the longer the copper cable used, the more bandwidth you lose. With SIRO, there is no discernable loss over the distance from the cabinet to the router in your home. This opens up unlimited possibilities for home entertainment and remote working. For the avid gamers, SIRO will transform the entire gaming experience, with extremely low latency and jitter level, little to no packet loss and lightning fast download speeds of 1 Gbps. For the movies enthusiasts, SIRO lets you download a 25GB HD movie in 3 minutes, compared to 30 minutes on a FTTC 100 Mbps connection (FTTH Council Europe). For the remote workers, imagine the ability to send and receive emails instantly, download large files in seconds, or video-call without lagging or buffering. For small and medium businesses all over Ireland, SIRO best-in-class 100% fibre connectivity offers industry-leading speed and reliability – which enables you to worry less about whether you’ll be able to send that email to your client or get your contactless payment to work, and more on the actual strategic running of your business. Find out more about SIRO for Business.

Copper – the Dying Technology

There are many factors pointing towards the inevitable demise of copper technology. Consumers have increasingly realised the benefits of fibre: more Irish consumers than ever are switching to FTTH – the annual growth rate of FTTH is 115% -the fastest growth among all broadband subscription types, while copper connections have declined by 17.3% (Comreg quarterly data, Q1 2019). Following the regulation by the ASAI, we can expect an even stronger shift going into 2020 and beyond, as consumers will be able to tell whether it is fibre or copper they’re buying. All over Europe, the battle against copper, and the call for a ‘copper switch-off’ is intensifying. In fact, a full copper switch-off has been found to be a win-win with numerous benefits for both consumers and operators. Soon, fibre-optics will completely replace copper cables in both long and short-haul networking – and copper will be truly a thing of the past. So why not future proof your homes or business today and check if your address is connectable to SIRO?

Today is Gimme Fibre Day, a day that celebrates Nobel Prize winner Sir Charles Kuen Kao, whose work on transmitting light through fibres revolutionised communications. This day, Kao’s birthday, is a day to acknowledge both his achievements and the benefits his work on optical fibre bring to the world. More than 95% of global digital data is carried by fibre optic cables and this technology touches every aspect of our lives, from facilitating communication with loved ones to enabling smart homes, smart cities and smart working. Many of today’s most complex problems necessitate the contribution of equally complex ICT solutions, which in turn depend on Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN) to transfer data at scale and at speed. One such problem is climate change. The challenge of reducing harmful emissions and adapting to an uncertain future climate will require enormous change, much of it technical, in every sector of the economy. A recent paper published by UK wholesale fibre network operator City Fibre pointed to the need for VHCNs to underpin ICT carbon reduction solutions across sectors such as energy, eHealth, transport, smart buildings and cloud computing. Without a high-speed, high-quality with low latency and resilient broadband network, these solutions will be difficult to adopt widely. At SIRO, we see building a future-proofed 100% fibre optic network as an important enabler for the transition to a sustainable economy. Our network currently reaches 275,000 homes and businesses across regional Ireland, with 50,000 customers and growing. FTTH networks themselves are more energy efficient than other access networks and research has shown that per gigabit, widespread adoption of FTTH infrastructure could be responsible for 88% fewer emissions in European countries than the alternatives. Public concern over climate change is growing. According to the Eurobarometer (2019), 75% of Irish people see it as a ‘very serious’ problem, up from 68% in 2017. While they see Government (48%), the EU (45%), business (39%) and themselves (43%) as being relatively equally responsible for tackling climate change, 62% of Irish respondents say they have personally taken action “to fight climate change over the past six months”. Proposals relating to specific Government actions, e.g. financial supports for clean energy transition and national renewable energy targets are heavily supported by Irish respondents (93% and 95% respectively). These results show that on the whole, Irish people are willing to make personal changes in behaviour to tackle climate change but they also see a need for these changes to be supported by Government action. However, business and industry also bear a huge responsibility, not only to decrease their own carbon footprint, but to empower the public, including their employees, to take their own actions on climate change.  

FTTH – empowering people to make change

Building a future-proofed 100% fibre-optic broadband network will help Irish people to make the changes they want to make in their own lives and work to help fight climate change. For the individual, there is potential to reduce transport emissions, in particular through facilitating remote working. A quantitative analysis using a lifecycle approach conducted by PwC for the FTTH Council North America found that within 6 years of its deployment, a typical FTTH network in the US will have a positive impact on the environment mainly due to the benefits of remote working.[1] As a company we believe that we should also empower our employees to make similar changes, and facilitate remote working where possible. At SIRO we have a mixture of office-based and field-based staff and while the options to work remotely are dependent on business needs, we aim to allow all those who desire it and whose role allows it, to work from home or a remote office/site. We are building our fibre network in towns in regional Ireland, so while our head office is in Carrickmines Dublin, many of our employees are based in towns across the country from Letterkenny to Tralee, to Galway and Dundalk. To get an idea of the prevalence and the appetite for remote working in SIRO and the carbon savings we could make by spending one day a week working from home, we recently surveyed the staff. We found that that SIRO staff respondents travel an average of 58km daily to their place of work. Those who travel by car travel an average of 62km daily to their place of work.[2] In keeping with the profile of the company, many SIRO employees live outside of Dublin, commuting to the office in Carrickmines from towns and cities such as Roscommon and Cork. Given the location of the office and the distribution of our build sites, it is unsurprising how far the average SIRO employee travels to get to work. Also reflecting our head office location and build sites, 87% of SIRO staff travel to work by private car or company van, with 8% taking public transport and 3% travelling by car share, 2% use other modes such as walking or motorcycle. The company already incentivises use of public transport through the Government Taxsaver scheme, other options to decrease emissions from travel to work are car sharing and remote working. When asked whether they would be open to car sharing, only 30% of respondents indicated they were and only 3% of people currently car share regularly. Remote working, on the other hand, is more popular, 63% of respondents reported working from home/remotely during the week. Of those that do not work remotely/from home [3], 60% of them said that they would like to. Aside from the other benefits of working from home, (e.g. better work-life balance), the emissions reductions can be significant. The Government’s Climate Action Plan estimates that every new remote worker will yield a net energy saving of 10kWh per day. In the UK, it has been estimated that the nationwide availability of faster broadband could save 1.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per annum due to remote working and a reduction in work travel alone.[4]  

The Benefits of Remote Working on CO₂ Emissions

From our survey, we calculated that on average a SIRO employee working from home one day a week for a year would save 724 kg CO₂, or 0.72 tonnes CO₂ emissions each, or approximately 5% of an Irish person’s emissions per annum (13.3 tonnes per capita 2017) Not everyone who wishes to work remotely wishes to work from home. An option many found attractive was working from a digital/co-working hub. If it was available, 26% would work from a hub occasionally and 38% would work from a hub frequently/very frequently. Through a partnership with Vodafone, SIRO sponsors 15 Gigabit hubs in regional towns around the country, giving them access to two year’s free 1 Gigabit connection. Recent research by Vodafone found that Gigabit hubs make a substantial economic contribution to the towns they are based in and it estimated that 5,200 jobs could be supported.[12] That’s 5,200 people who can avoid a lengthy commute. By giving people who live in regional towns the option to work in a local Gigabit hub rather than commute to the nearest city most likely by car, they are also empowering people to reduce their carbon emissions. Dr Kao would no doubt be pleased with the significant efforts going on across Europe to “Switch Off” Copper networks and replace them with Very High Capacity (VHCN) Fibre networks, both in the backhaul trunk networks and the local last mile access networks. Greater adoption of this infrastructure he pioneered has the dual benefit of driving the EU Digital Agenda and competitiveness and also contributing to the decarbonising of industry and transportation. Happy birthday Sir Charles from SIRO.     [1] PwC (2008), ‘Developing a Generic Approach for FTTH Solutions using Life Cycle Analysis Methodology to Determine Environmental Benefits of FTTH Deployments in the USA’. [2] Response rate of 58% [3] 37% do not currently work from home/remotely [4] SQW (2013), UK Broadband Impact Study.  Found in WIK Consult (2018), The Benefits of Ultrafast Broadband

Minister Seán Kyne, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands has launched a new SIRO rollout to provide Galway city with access to the most powerful broadband service in Ireland. The first Galway homes which were connected to the network in Oranmore last week. The Galway rollout will see services powered by SIRO made available to approximately 30,000 premises across Galway city and the surrounding area.  SIRO will invest €20 million in the construction of its Gigabit broadband network, representing what will be the largest single investment that the wholesale broadband operator will make in 2019. The network build will commence from SIRO points of Interconnect in Galway, Oranmore and Moneenageisha to cover 30 clusters in the Galway area bringing access to SIRO’s Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) technology, which 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.  

Fibre-Optic Cables Straight to the Home

Using the existing ESB network, SIRO builds dedicated fibre-optic cables all the way to the home or business premises, delivering speeds of 1 Gigabit per second or 15 times faster than the average broadband speeds in Ireland.  For context, downloading a high definition (HD) film of 4 GB (Gigabytes) with a 10 Mbps connection takes an hour - with SIRO it takes 30 seconds. Given the changes in how businesses and consumers access and use data and content, FTTB is now the fastest growing segment of the Irish broadband market with connections more than doubling since the start of 2018 from 50,000 to 108,000. FTTB is a key enabler of smart cities, the internet of things (IoT) and homeworking. The TLI Group, which has already delivered Carrigaline, Limerick, Tralee, and Killarney and is currently working in another 6 towns across Cork and Tipperary, has been appointed build delivery partner for the Galway roll out. Welcoming the announcement, Minister Seán Kyne said the investment in Galway by ESB and Vodafone through SIRO is a direct result of the Government’s policies on broadband which have included enabling the use of the ESB network for telecommunications. Gigabit connectivity will have a transformative effect on Galway as Fibre-to-the-Building is recognised as the gold standard for broadband internationally. As a result, this will give Galway businesses a head start against their peers both at home and internationally, as well as giving homes access to the latest digital services.” John Keaney, CEO of SIRO, added: “Our Gigabit connectivity will complement Galway’s rich technology heritage and put it on a par with international cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo in terms of broadband quality. SIRO is proud to help power a digital transformation in the city benefiting residents and businesses alike by introducing a new fibre era and switching off the old legacy copper network.”  

High-Speed Broadband is Attracting Investors to Galway

Speaking at the launch Mark Gantly, Senior R&D Director HP Enterprise, President of the American Chamber of Commerce, also said: “The availability of high speed internet connections are increasingly demanded by Foreign Direct Investors (FDI) looking to locate in regional Ireland. SIRO’s 100% fibre-optic broadband will future proof Galway City’s broadband requirements for generations.” Speaking at the launch, Galway Chamber President Dave Hickey added: “Given the strong growth of sectors such as financial services, medtech, ICT, and cyber security in Galway, it is absolutely essential that business is supported by the best quality connectivity. We have low latency transatlantic connection and now we have the local connectivity to match. It builds further resilience for an economy increasingly driven by data.” Mayor of Galway City Cllr. Mike Cubbard added: “Galway city is well placed to leverage this with new office space due to come on-stream over the next year, rental prices half the price of equivalent space in Dublin on average; a lower cost of living; and a talented workforce with 53% of the city’s population under 35 years of age.” 10 retailers now offer services powered by SIRO’s Gigabit broadband network to homes and businesses in 45 towns across the country. SIRO is offered on an open-access basis to all telecoms retailers in Ireland.  SIRO has formed partnerships with 10 operators – Vodafone, Digiweb, Sky, BT, Carnsore Broadband, Rocket Broadband, Kerry Broadband, eNet, Airwire and WestNet – with more retailers expected to come on board as the company drives competition in the wholesale broadband market.

Minister for Education & Skills Joe McHugh TD has announced a new €14 million investment by SIRO in the rollout of its Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB) broadband network to six new towns in Donegal - Buncrana, Donegal Town, Ballybofey, Stranorlar, Ballyshannon and Bundoran. This will see over 14,000 homes and premises offered access to Ireland’s fastest broadband network.

Construction Begins in Buncrana

SIRO has already commenced construction, with 1,600 homes and businesses in Buncrana already able to avail of Gigabit connectivity, and preparatory works also already underway in the five other towns. All of the premises will have a 100% fibre-optic connection available, giving them access to the same level of world class broadband in cities like Hong Kong or Tokyo. Stephen O'Connor SIRO's Director of Corporate Affairs, speaks to Highland Radio. The announcement was made by Minister McHugh at an event at Inishowen Gateway Hotel in Buncrana, held in partnership with Donegal County Council, which also saw KN Networks revealed as SIRO’s construction partner for the project. It brings SIRO’s total investment in Co Donegal to €25 million, having already made services powered by the wholesale broadband operator available to 11,000 premises in Letterkenny. There has been a high level of demand already in Letterkenny, with a penetration rate of more than 25% with public interest in services powered by SIRO in Buncrana also very encouraging at this early stage. SIRO has also committed to connect Donegal County Council’s planned Digital Hub in Buncrana as part of Vodafone and SIRO’s national Gigabit Hub Initiative, which offers a 1 Gigabit (1,000 Mbps or Megabits per second) broadband connection to qualifying business hubs in regional towns.  

SIRO rollout expanding from regional towns

SIRO’s rollout originally focused on 50 regional towns, each with over 4,000 premises, across the country. The addition of these six smaller towns to SIRO’s rollout is a pilot for a potential future second phase, which could see the rollout of SIRO’s 100% fibre-optic network expanded further. Commenting about the Donegal rollout, Minister for Education & Skills Joe McHugh TD said: “The Government has been actively encouraging the private sector to invest in delivering high speed broadband to regions across Ireland and today’s announcement is an example of that strategy paying off for Donegal. The investment by SIRO will see the construction in six towns of a Fibre-to-the-Building broadband network, which is recognised as the gold standard for broadband internationally, and is to be applauded. Residents and businesses in Buncrana, Donegal, Ballybofey, Stranorlar, Ballyshannon and Bundoran will have access to the level of connectivity that is available in Tokyo and Hong Kong, so these towns will stand at the top of Ireland’s broadband league.” Cllr Seamus O'Domhnaill, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, said: “Broadband is as vital for day-to-day life as electricity and is an absolute necessity for social and economic development in Donegal. Following the successful launch of services powered by SIRO in Letterkenny, the Council has worked very closely with the company to encourage them to invest further and expand their rollout to additional towns, as well as committing to powering the Inishowen Innovation Hub as part of the Gigabit Hubs initiative.  This is a great day for Donegal and we’re very proud to see the Council’s efforts paying off to deliver this milestone.” Stephen O’Connor, SIRO’s Director of Corporate Affairs added: “SIRO has formed a close partnership with Donegal County Council, which has been critical to adding these extra six towns to our network following our original successful launch in Letterkenny. Construction is well underway, with services already live in Buncrana. Simply put, this will have a transformational effect as all 25,000 homes and businesses will have access to Gigabit broadband, which is the international gold standard for broadband connectivity.”  

SIRO is Expanding the Gigabit Hub Initiative

As part of its expanded rollout in Donegal, SIRO has put out a call to business centres in the six towns to register their interest in participating in the Gigabit Hub Initiative, which is run in partnership with Vodafone. The initiative aims to spark a digital transformation by providing Gigabit connectivity to qualifying hubs free of charge for two years. The recipients will receive a 1 Gigabit broadband connection from Vodafone which is powered by SIRO’s 100% fibre-optic network. The aim of the initiative is to replicate the success of the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen which is on course to help create 500 jobs in the West Cork region over the next five years.