Ultra fast broadband on trial run for 10,000 users

SOME 10,000 broadband users in Wexford town and Sandyford, Co Dublin, are to experience Ireland’s fastest internet speeds during Eircom’s €20m open access ultra fast broadband optic fibre trials.

The national telecoms firm is also allowing its competitors access to the new technology, in the eventual hope of spreading the cost of developing a nationwide fibre-based network.

Eircom has not costed a national rollout for the new broadband, but IBEC telecoms group Tif estimates that reaching 90% of Irish homes would cost €2.6bn.

Eircom group chief executive, Paul Donovan, said: “The rollout of fibre on a nationwide basis can only happen once there is certainty around the cost of technology deployment and clarity on the future regulatory framework.

“This trial will deliver the fastest broadband speeds in Ireland, butit will also allow Eircom and other operators the opportunity to assess customer demand for a range of new products and services.

“In order for there to be widespread deployment of fibre there must be a consensus across industry around the economics and rollout timeframes. It is our hope that this large scale trial will help provide greater certainty on these vital topics.

With speeds of up to 150 mega bits per second, Eircom said its new broadband is significantly faster than the 30MB which UPC is currently offering in Sligo, Mullingar, Athlone, Newbridge, Carlow and Portlaoise. It is also 50% faster than the broadband UPC plans to offer later this summer.

Eircom communications officer, Paul Bradley, said: “There is no commitment on a national rollout. We need to get the other operators involved. The industry needs to come forward with what it sees as being the best broadband solution for Ireland.

“We chose Sandyford as a typical urban area, and Wexford town as a rural model which is identified as a broadband hub by the national spatial strategy.

“We hope that the other operators will come on board for this trial, to fully examine the supply issues, to see what the broadband users want, and to work out what is the best technology to meet their demands.”