enet, Ireland’s open access network operator, is building Ireland’s first fibre town in Claremorris, Co. Mayo through a €0.5m investment in broadband infrastructure which sees AirSpeed Telecom offering 250Mbs broadband connectivity to local businesses.
Launched today by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, T.D. and Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte T.D., enet fibredirect brings fibre directly into every business in Claremorris ensuring that all businesses can access superfast fibre broadband, as well as customary telephony services.
The first ‘Fibre To The Business’ (FTTB) network in Ireland, enet fibredirect future-proofs Claremorris’ business community by providing the ultimate broadband experience, free from bandwidth bottlenecks and allowing local businesses to take full advantage of digital markets and exploit online opportunities.
Crucially, enet fibredirect is a genuine 100% fibre service, with fibre optic cables being delivered directly into premises. Other so-called ‘fibre’ services connect to a local telecoms exchange or cabinet, but still rely on older copper networks to reach premises, resulting in a significant loss of performance. Bandwidth will be delivered directly into premises via enet fibredirect, meaning broadband speeds advertised will be guaranteed rather than the ‘up to’ claims made by service providers over copper networks.
Construction of the new enet fibredirect network has commenced, and will be completed in August. Already over 50% of the local businesses have subscribed to services delivered over the network via AirSpeed Telecom. The significant customer acquisition achieved by AirSpeed Telecom created the critical mass required to underpin the investment decision.
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D. said: “The Government’s top priority is getting Ireland working again. Building super-fast broadband networks is essential for supporting the businesses and jobs of tomorrow. I firmly believe that recent developments in broadband investment will see Ireland catapulted to the top of international league tables for speed and bandwidth. Projects like enet fibredirect in Claremorris are crucial to this effort. They also play a really important role in supporting balanced regional development. That is why enet, AirSpeed, Claremorris Chamber and Mayo County Council are to be congratulated for working together to deliver this really exciting scheme that sets an example for businesses and towns across Ireland.”
Minister Pat Rabbitte T.D. commented: “Today is a very exciting and important day for everyone living and working in Claremorris. enet’s decision to invest in the creation of a direct fibre link to each of the town’s businesses will provide the sort of industry-strength broadband, as evidenced by AirSpeed’s offering, that is essential if they are to grow and create jobs.”
“I am pleased to hear that enet is considering the possibility of creating further fibredirect towns among other cities and towns with Metropolitan Area Networks”, he continued. “This is the kind of infrastructural investment that Ireland needs to foster digital entrepreneurship and increase competitiveness.”
Conal Henry, enet CEO said: “The team at enet are thrilled to be making this investment, making Claremorris the first, truly fibre-enabled town in Ireland. By building a fibre network directly into every business, we are doing something no one else has done in Ireland. This fibre network completely replaces the out-of-date copper network which has reached its end of life – every business can finally get broadband from a broadband network!”
“The support of AirSpeed, as well as the Claremorris Chamber of Commerce and Mayo County Council, has been critical in driving us towards this successful outcome. We will be looking to replicate this level of support in other locations to facilitate further enet fibredirect rollouts.”
Commenting on the initiative, Liam O’Kelly, CEO of AirSpeed Telecom, said: “We are very proud of our involvement in the delivery of this world-class fibre service to Claremorris which will provide local businesses with high performance bandwidth, high speed internet, voice and video. The bandwidth offered by AirSpeed Telecom will be delivered via fibre optic cables directly into each premises meaning that broadband speeds advertised will be guaranteed, resulting in significant improvements in download and upload speeds for users. The cost savings, efficiency gains and commercial opportunities this superfast fibre network will create is extremely positive news for the economic growth of the region and all at AirSpeed Telecom are delighted to be involved.”
enet expects Claremorris to be the first of many towns to benefit from this world class digital infrastructure.