enet has announced that over one million end users are now benefiting from its integrated fibre and wireless networks. The one million beneficiaries include mobile phone and device-users, students, residential users, public sector workers, as well as staff in multinational organisations.
Right across the country, the company is improving the way people work and connect with the world by operating a wholesale platform for a range of voice, data and entertainment services.
Conal Henry, enet CEO, commented: “The networks we operate, including the Metropolitan Area Networks, are ensuring that Irish citizens and businesses receive world-class broadband connectivity. We are facilitating more balanced regional development and are actively assisting in the retention and expansion of foreign direct investment in the regions.”
Henry added: “enet’s open-access model has broken the single supplier dependency and provided an amazing choice and competition right across Ireland, which is why we now have one million users on our networks.”
In Galway City alone, enet has enabled over twenty different retail service-providers to compete, including Magnet, Virgin Media and Vodafone, in the delivery of a variety of services to businesses and residents in the area. These services range from 4G mobile to cable TV to wireless broadband to Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) – whereby last mile copper infrastructure can be connected to fibre to increase the bandwidth available.
As a result of continued investment in its infrastructure, enet’s transformative connectivity is delivering major boosts to employment, opening up new opportunities for business, particularly in rural Ireland. Recent projects include the construction of a one gigabit-per-second fibre network in rural North Kerry, as well as a metropolitan fibre network build in Castlebar, County Mayo.
Maureen Walsh, Managing Director at dental insurance group, DeCare Dental, based in Claremorris, Co. Mayo, commented: “The connectivity that DeCare has achieved through the Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is having a significant effect on the competitiveness of our business. Having access to a world-class fibre service greatly enhances the speed and efficiency of our operations and is a vital component in our success. We currently employ over 90 people in our customer service and claims operation centre in Claremorris and this connectivity is enabling us to broaden the scope of our services even further and increase our staff by up to 10%.”
Philp Martin, CEO of Cora Systems, headquartered in Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim said: “As a global software company we need high-speed connectivity with 100% reliability. That’s what enet provides. It gives us tremendous reach. We can run a global corporation from the north-west of Ireland – with projects that are live in over 50 countries – and not be punished because of our location. It’s really equipped us for significant growth for the company.” enet’s also enables high-speed connectivity facilitating Cora System’s staff to work remotely. The company currently has more than 50 staff, of which 80% are based in Leitrim.
Rural businesses haven’t been the only beneficiaries of enet’s services. In the education sector, enet supply superfast broadband network connectivity to numerous schools in the West of Ireland through the 100Mbs for Schools project run by the national educational and research network HEAnet on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. Nearly 40 post primary schools are now connected to enet networks in Galway, Mayo and Sligo.
HEAnet CEO, John Boland said, “We believe that the HEAnet Schools Network is a valuable national asset and that the provision of high-speed broadband to post-primary schools will have meaningful benefits for pupil learning outcomes in the years ahead. It will support the development of ICT and STEM related learning in Irish post-primary schools which will ultimately deliver real benefits for Irish society and its future economic prosperity.”