SIRO to invest €40m in high-speed broadband

Broadband provider SIRO is to invest €40m in the rollout of high-speed broadband to six more towns in the coming months.

The ESB-Vodafone joint venture is to expand its services to six more regional centres including Ennis and Portlaoise in the next phase of its deployment.

The company’s high-speed fibre optic broadband network will also be available in Mullingar, Newbridge, Drogheda, and Carlow.

Commenting on the announcement at the Ploughing Championships, SIRO chief executive Sean Atkinson said communities are benefiting from the rollout of the service which enables employment in rural areas.

“We are now passing 10,000 premises per month and working in 17 towns. SIRO gives consumers and businesses in regional Ireland access to far better services than in Dublin and other cities, reversing the digital divide allowing them to compete more effectively for investment and jobs.

The Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, which opened this year and aims to accommodate 500 jobs over the next five years, is an example of what can be achieved in rural areas when access to high-speed broadband is available, Mr Atkinson said.

SIRO is one of three companies shortlisted for the Government’s lucrative National Broadband Plan (NBP) along with Eir and Enet.

Mr Atkinson said SIRO’s fibre-to-the-building technology, which has no copper connections, is “the only technology capable of future proofing Ireland’s needs”.

SIRO offers 1GB broadband which it says is three times faster than the best service in Dublin and more than 10 times faster than that available across the rest of the country.