Carrigaline among first for fastest-ever broadband

Work has begun to deliver the country’s fastest-ever broadband to a Co Cork town in a reversal of the digital divide between Dublin and regional towns.

SIRO, the ESB-Vodafone joint venture, which is delivering Ireland’s first 100% fibre-optic broadband network to 50 towns, unveiled Carrigaline as the first Cork town in the project.

Ten regional towns, including Tralee, Cavan, Westport, and Carrigaline, are part of the first tranche to receive the new service, which offers up to one gigabit connectivity, rolled out.

Speaking at the launch with Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, SIRO chief executive Sean Atkinson said the service would put Carrigaline and the other towns involved on a par with the likes of Hong Kong and Tokyo for internet speeds.

“We’re delighted that Carrigaline will be the first town in Munster to be connected to SIRO’s 100% fibre-optic network, with another six towns in Cork included in the first phase of our rollout,” said Mr Atkinson.

“Every premises in Carrigaline will receive a 1 Gigabit broadband connection, future-proofing them for the internet services of the future.”

The service is expected to be working in four to six months. With a maximum of 1Gb/s available through SIRO, it may well be above the current market-leading 240 Mb/s offered by UPC.