Phone firms give Cork €44m broadband lift

A €44m deal agreed between mobile media network 3 and BT will deliver faster 3G mobile broadband for business people and householders in Cork, according to both groups.

BT employs 3,000 in this country and has offices in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Belfast. Its head office is in Dublin.

The move would consolidate 3’s position as the mobile operator with the fastest mobile broadband speeds in the country, 3 said in a statement.

BT will provide 3 with the backhaul to support 7.2Mbits/s industry standard technology later this year rising to 14.4Mbits/s in 2009.

BT will build and manage 3’s network infrastructure up to 2011 in the €44m deal.

3 had made great inroads in the broadband market through constant innovation on price and deploying the best mobile technologies, Robert Finnegan, company managing director said.

BT’s network provides 3 with the fibre-optic capability and resilience to support 14.4Mbits/s technology in the short term and the knowledge that BT will be ready to deliver up to 16Mbits/s when required, meeting the needs of the operator’s long-term roadmap.

In addition to supporting faster speeds, BT Ireland will provide full operation and maintenance services.

Field engineering staff will be on call to fix any faults on 3’s national infrastructure.

BT will also extend the number of 3 cell sites to 770 in Ireland. When the operator builds out its network, BT is charged with full project management duties, from radio planning that ensures new sites meet the technical criteria for optimum coverage, to securing the physical location and dealing with any planning issues or shared site agreements that may arise.

With all the planning paperwork in place, BT project manages the sub-contractors during site construction.

Article courtesy of The Evening Echo newspaper