Cavan Digital Hub to become Ireland’s latest Gigabit Hub
Cavan Digital Hub in will be the latest co-working facility to become part of SIRO and Vodafone’s national Gigabit Hub Initiative when it opens next month, following investment of over €600,000. Cavan Digital Hub will be the 13th Gigabit Hub connected through the initiative, which offers a 1 Gigabit broadband connection to qualifying business hubs free of charge for two years.
The hub has already attracted anchor clients including business intelligence and data analytics consultancy Apridata and cloud solutions company Glic Tech, both of whom have an international customer base and Cinnte Technologies, which provides IT services to SME’s and schools in the region. Cavan Digital Hub’s Gigabit connectivity enables companies using the space to do business with clients from any part of the world seamlessly, whilst also enjoying the quality of life and competitive cost base that Cavan offers.
Cavan town has positioned itself as an ideal business location due to a wide array of economic and social infrastructures in the area, the N3 and proximity to Dublin and Belfast airports. The SIRO rollout in the town has boosted its appeal to entrepreneurs, relocating businesses, foreign direct investment and remote workers.
Three Centres now Conncted to Gigabit Broadband in Cavan
Cavan has played a key role in SIRO’s history, as it was the wholesale broadband operator’s original trial location in 2015. Cavan Digital Hub has now become the third centre in the town Cavan to be connected to the SIRO and Vodafone Gigabit Hubs Initiative, alongside the Centre for Social Gain and Cavan Innovation & Technology Centre.
Commenting about the announcement, Leanne Connell, Cavan Digital Hub Manager, “Cavan Digital Hub are proud to identify as a Gigabit Hub via SIRO & Vodafone. Being able to offer businesses high speed broadband has been a huge advantage to us. High speed, reliable broadband has become an essential component of business, and we look forward to enabling digital businesses to grow and thrive in our facility.
“Offering hot desks, private offices, meeting room facilities, along with opportunities to collaborate & network with other businesses in the same field, combined with offering a high-speed connection, all within one facility, is a fantastic step for the digital economy of Cavan town, and the greater Cavan region.”
Ronan Whelan, Chief Commercial Officer in SIRO, added: “SIRO has formed a close partnership with Cavan County Council, which has been critical to adding Cavan Digital Hub to the Gigabit Hubs Initiative. The SIRO network now extends to over 4300 homes and businesses in Cavan, giving them access to the best broadband in Ireland. High speed broadband connectivity is vital for regional towns competing for investment and having strategic co-working facility with a 1 Gigabit broadband connection like Cavan Digital Hub makes Cavan a winning location.”
Regina Moran, Vodafone Ireland Business Director said: “I am delighted to announce that, through the SIRO Vodafone partnership, we have reached yet another significant milestone in terms of providing connectivity to regional areas of Ireland.
“The Gigabit Hub initiative is providing vital infrastructure at pace across the country and in doing so is helping promote rural Ireland as a place to do business. This initiative allows people to work smarter, have a better work/life balance and pursue careers in towns and villages across Ireland. Through our commitment to improve rural connectivity by bringing high-speed broadband to hubs such as Cavan Digital Hub, we can try reverse commuting and urban migration trends and help increase productivity by allowing people to work closer to home. It will also create employment opportunities for the people of Cavan and surrounding communities and help to stimulate the local economy”.
Supporting Economic Growth in Regional Towns
Vodafone and SIRO’s Gigabit Hub Initiative was designed to spark a digital transformation in towns across Ireland and encourage job and economic growth in regional towns. As the 14th hub to receive the award, Cavan Digital Hub joins the Ludgate Hub (Skibbereen), Tralee HQ (Tralee), Dundalk RDC (Dundalk), The Mill (Drogheda), Enterprise House (Carlow), New Work Junction (Carlow/Kilkenny/Wexford), Centre for Social Gain (Cavan), Cavan Innovation & Technology Centre (Cavan), The Landing Space (Sligo), Vision 85 Portlaoise and Irish Manufacturing Research (Mullingar) which have all been connected to SIRO’s 100% fibre-optic 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, when downloading a high definition film (4 Gigabytes) with a 10 Mbps connection, the download time is an hour – with SIRO it takes approximately 30 seconds.
SIRO is offered on an open-access basis to all telecoms retailers in Ireland, with 10 retailers offering connections to over 242,000 homes and businesses. 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.