Fibre optic cable

Siro invests €60m in Cork network upgrade

Trade
Image: Stockfresh

17 September 2018

Wholesale broadband operator Siro has announced a €60 million plan to make Cork the ‘broadband capital’ of Ireland.

The plan follows on from the the successful deployment of Siro’s fibre-to-the-home network in Carrigaline, Skibbereen and Mallow.

Once completed, Siro’s Cork footprint will expand to include a further 10,000 premises across Carrigtwohill, Midleton, Blarney, Tower and Charleville.

Siro has so far built a network of over 185,000 premises in 40 towns around Ireland. Covering 85,000 premises Cork will be the largest single investment, marking a total spend in the county of €70 million.

Huawei has been named as build partner for the Cork city rollout marking the latest in a series of partnerships between the two companies.

Sean Atkinson, CEO, Siro, said: “While Cork is traditionally seen as the second capital of Ireland, today’s announcement will firmly establish it as the broadband capital of Ireland. Our Gigabit connectivity will complement Cork’s rich technology heritage and put it on a par with international cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo.

“Cork city is ideally placed to leverage this with in excess of one million square foot of office space due to come on-stream over the next year, with rental prices less than half the price of equivalent space in Dublin on average; a 23% lower cost of living; and a talented workforce with half of the Cork population under 35 years of age. Siro is proud to help power a digital transformation in the city, as well as the five new towns revealed today, benefiting residents and businesses alike.”

Speaking at the launch, Cork Chamber President Bill O’Connell added: “Given the strong growth of sectors such as global financial services, fintech, ICT, SaaS and cyber security in Cork, it is absolutely essential that business is supported by the best quality connectivity. We have the lowest latency transatlantic connection in Europe, new connections to mainland Europe in planning and now the local connectivity to match. It builds further resilience for an economy increasingly driven by data.”

Siro’s network is now live in 30 towns across the country, with 10 retailers offering connections to more than 185,000 homes and businesses. SIRO is offered on an open-access basis to all telecoms retailers in Ireland. SIRO has formed partnerships with Vodafone, Digiweb, Sky, BT, Carnsore Broadband, Rocket Broadband, Kerry Broadband, eNet, Airwire and WestNet.

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