What have lifts, burglar and fire alarms, car park barriers, health and security monitoring devices, landline phones, boiler controls, CCTV or retail point of sale terminals all got in common?
The answer is that many, many of these everyday devices still rely on copper technology to operate.
It matters because the process of switching copper technology in Ireland is expected to shortly commence. The process will mean that copper broadband, over the coming years, will be switched off, with consumers and businesses transitioning to fibre broadband – a faster, more reliable, resilient and future proofed technology.
As a result, Ireland will experience one of the largest telecommunications’ transformations since Ireland’s first (copper based) telephone exchange opened on Dublin’s Dame Street, with just five subscribers, in 1880. The effects of copper switch off will be larger than just broadband. It will also impact thousands of devices, like those listed above, which still use copper. Once copper is switched off, these devices will need to be upgraded or replaced to continue to operate.
At end 2023, the telecoms regulator, Comreg, set out the framework for copper broadband to be phased out. The EU Commission have also called for the Irish process to be accelerated. Equally, it has published a draft deadline of 2030 for all copper broadband to be turned off across the EU.
Transition to Fibre Broadband
In Ireland, the commencement of copper switch is linked directly to the successful pace of fibre broadband – with 2-in-3 of all premises now able to access fibre broadband and the remainder on track to do so no later than 2028. In this context, copper switch off must be viewed as a progressive development, albeit one which must be planned for and managed to ensure a positive outcome.
With the clock now ticking down to the end of copper, a detailed process plan which engages key stakeholders; quantifies the extent of the impacts from copper switch off; and ensures a smooth transition, protecting end users has yet to emerge. The stakeholder inputs required for a successful copper switch off are wide. They are spread across all broadband operators and retailers providing broadband services, particularly those rolling out fibre; in addition to security, health, business, consumer and community representatives.
While older and more vulnerable customers are a priority, so too must be business, particularly small businesses. SIRO’s own
research shows SMEs have been the slowest sector to switch to fibre – clinging on, to the detriment of their business to copper and often paying above the odds for their lethargy.
Planning for Copper Switch Off
Right now, the issue is not one which is part of the public consciousness. That’s not surprising as, to date, we have just a bare regulatory framework setting out the conditions under which switch off process can commence.
As we get closer to the first areas being switched off, Government, industry and wider interest groups now need to come together and begin to plan. A desktop analysis by SIRO indicates the wide range of areas that we need to plan for from landlines, burglar alarms, health monitor, lifts, car park barriers to retail terminals.
Take just one example, landlines. These will need to migrate to fibre from copper if people want to continue to use them. While many homes now use just their mobile phone, among older generations this is often not the case. For them, the house phone and the landline number they have held for decades, remains the primary means of communication to family and friends. Added to that, many elderly also use their copper landline to support the functioning of independent security and health monitoring devices. The Department of Rural and Community Development, through Pobal, provide 15,000 each year to older people through the Seniors Alert Scheme. The majority remain dependent on copper. Landlines, just one of many examples.
The most effective solution lies in encouraging as many people as possible switch to fibre broadband now, and simultaneously upgrading any household or business devices as part of that migration process. That message needs a greater push. The Government is working to a date of 2028 for a fully fibred Ireland. Yet, with over 60% of premises now fibre enabled, less than half have switched to fibre. More proactive initiatives will be required to migrate all householders. This is where a coordinated National Plan for Copper Switch Off, with a strong public communications element, must step into the vacuum. It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that copper switch off is a hugely positive development for Irish consumers and businesses.
But copper broadband just doesn’t cut it anymore. It cannot meet the demands now placed upon it in an increasingly digital world. Copper can’t provide the bandwidth or higher speeds; meet the greater data needs; or deliver the security and resiliency requirements that fibre broadband can. A full fibre broadband Ireland will ensure that we have the most advanced connectivity in Europe and globally. It unlocks many of the digital innovations which will significantly improves the lives of individuals and communities in areas such as healthcare, education, climate change and cybersecurity.
Copper switch off doesn’t have to be delayed or chaotic but it might be unless we manage this significant technological leap forward in a planned and effective way.
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This development is part of SIRO’s mission to bring future-proof broadband infrastructure to towns across Ireland. In County Cork alone, SIRO has passed close to 86,000 premises, enabling connectivity in towns including Ballincollig, Bandon, Carrigaline, Carrigtwohill, Fermoy, Little Island, Mallow, Midleton, Skibbereen, Youghal, and Crosshaven.
Residents and businesses in Kinsale can order SIRO broadband through one of its retail partners, including Virgin Media, Vodafone, Sky, Digiweb, Pure Telecom, Blacknight Solutions, and Fastcom.
This expansion is part of SIRO’s national rollout, which aims to pass over 700,000 premises by 2026. Already, more than 600,000 homes and businesses in 142 towns and cities across Ireland are connected, thanks to SIRO’s €1 billion investment in building a high-quality fibre broadband network.
Speaking about the Kinsale rollout, SIRO CEO John Keaney said:
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The CTEK2 Hub can now provide businesses and tenants with high-speed, high-quality fibre connectivity, supported by SIRO’s 100% fibre network, which can provide speeds of up to 25 Gigabits, future proofing the service for decades to come. This means that as the bandwidth and speed needs of Monaghan businesses grow in the years to come the CTEK2 Hub can continue to keep pace with their needs.
CTEK2 is already proving hugely popular with the Carrickmacross and wider Monaghan business community, with 11 tenants already availing of the 17 units onsite. The new hub compliments the existing CTEK1 building located next door, which has been open for several years. The new Hub is already supporting 50 jobs. Businesses using the Hub include a home care provider, an accountancy firm, an executive car rental company and physical therapist, among others. Overall, the 1,450-square-meter facility supports regional talent retention, provides a work base for former commuters, and attracts start-ups from Monaghan and surrounding counties.
Offering a range of office options, from hot desks to private spaces, CTEK2 is designed to meet the needs of various users, from solo entrepreneurs to established enterprises. Its extensive facilities, including ample parking and kitchen spaces, allowing tenants to work in a flexible, professional environment close to home. As CTEK2 continues to grow, it plans to host community events and offer further professional development opportunities, solidifying its role as a cornerstone for local business success and innovation.
SIRO is a leading full fibre broadband operator rolling out a 100% fibre broadband network across Ireland. Its network is currently available in Carrickmacross and Monaghan town.
Robert Burns, CEO of Monaghan County Council stated:
Both the level of access to full fibre broadband and take up of this service has grown considerably in recent years as network rollouts accelerate. However, the majority of the take up has been by residential customers with the pace of adaptation not replicated by Irish business.
In an EU context, the most recent Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2022 found that Ireland’s take up of fixed broadband was lower than the EU average. Previous research by the European Commission from 2019, noted that the digital economy in Ireland “appears to run at two different speeds, with a small number of multinationals with high digitisation but with indigenous SMEs, slower in leveraging digital solutions to reduce costs, drive innovation and expand their market presence”.
The data comes a time when the digitalisation of business, particularly SMEs, is an increasing focus for Government to ensure they remain competitive and sustainable into the future. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has set a national target of 90% of SMEs to reach basic digital intensity by 2030 and to have at least 75% of enterprises using Cloud, AI and Big Data by 2030.
SIRO Chief Commercial Officer Ronan Whelan noted:
These include the 2016 documentary “Pull Like a Dog” which follows Skibbereen Olympic medallists’, brothers Gary and Paul O’Donovan, as they return from the Rio Olympics and the film adaptation of John McGahern’s acclaimed novel “That They May Face the Rising Sun”.
With Skibbereen’s Annual Arts Festival taking place from Friday, 26 July to Saturday, 3 August, festival organisers have installed large screens to live stream both the Olympic rowing events and films and documentaries at the Town Hall, which can hold over 200 people, during the festival.
However, organisers found the existing connectivity to the Town Hall did not meet what was required for the live Olympic streaming and planned festival screenings.
Ludgate Hub, which itself is powered by SIRO Gigabit Fibre then approached the broadband operator to see what could be achieved, in the short time frame, to provide fibre broadband to meet the connectivity requirements of the Town Hall.
Notwithstanding the extremely tight deadlines, following extensive engagement and teamwork between Ludgate Hub, SIRO and Cork County Council, a fibre broadband connection was installed in the Town Hall premise late on Thursday.
Access to a full fibre broadband connection is seen as essential for the longer-term viability and continued development of the Town Hall as a centre point for Skibbereen’s artistic community. It’s hoped that fast and reliable connectivity will allow the Town Hall to expand the facility’s arts activities into the future.
Skibbereen Arts Festival Director, Declan McCarthy commented:
