- Cork’s Carrigtwohill to become Ireland’s First Full Fibre Town, with access to full fibre broadband for all of town’s premises in coming weeks.
- SIRO CEO John Keaney: “Every town needs to be Carrigtwohill” as copper switch off must be prioritised.
Fibre broadband network operator, SIRO, has today marked a decade since the company was launched by announcing Carrigtwohill will become Ireland’s first full fibre town when SIRO’s build in the Cork town completes later this summer.
The announcement was made at a 10th anniversary celebration event held by the company at Dublin’s Merrion Hotel and attended by Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport Patrick O’Donovan T.D.
SIRO confirmed at the event that, when it completes its build programme in Carrigtwohill in the coming weeks, all homes and businesses within the town will have access to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband. This will make Carrigtwohill the first Irish town in which all premises can access full fibre broadband.
Carrigtwohill is a growing town, just 12 kilometres from Cork City, whose population has more than trebled to over 5,500 since 2002. Its population is predicted to reach up to 10,000 by 2030, with a sizeable number of new housing developments underway or planned.
SIRO’s fibre to the home network will reach over 2,300 premises in the town and the company is also on track for its network to reach the more than 1,000 new homes which are either under construction or planned for the town.
Access to fast, reliable and future proofed fibre broadband will support Carrigtwohill’s residents and businesses to live and work more sustainably such as by working remotely, availing of online education or allowing businesses to work smarter and more efficiently using digital tools and resources.
SIRO was founded as a joint venture between ESB and Vodafone in May 2015, with the objective of delivering high quality and future proofed fibre connectivity to communities and towns across Ireland. Since then, SIRO fibre broadband network has grown to become Ireland’s second largest – now available to over 650,000 premises in 143 cities and towns in every county in Ireland. SIRO continues to rollout out its network targeting over 700,000 premises by 2026.
When SIRO was founded in 2015, only 1% of premises had access to FTTH broadband. SIRO’s launch of Ireland’s first full fibre network spawned a fibre revolution, stimulating real competition in the market. Today, over 7 in 10 of all premises now can avail of FTTH broadband, making the Government’s target Gigabit broadband access for all by 2028 feasible.
At the event, many of the ‘Fibre Firsts’ achieved by SIRO over the decade were acknowledged including:
- First to launch a 100% Fibre to the Home broadband network in Ireland;
- First to offer 1 Gigabit speeds to Irish homes;
- First to launch a 10 Gigabit enabled network, followed by 2 Gigabit speeds to residential market in 2021; and
First Irish broadband operator to be awarded European FTTH Operator of the Year.
Speaking at the event, Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan T.D. noted:
“For a decade, SIRO has played a significant role in accelerating Ireland’s digital transformation, a role that aligns with the Government’s ambition for a connected, inclusive Ireland.
Their work advances the vision set out in the Programme for Government, which sets a number of targets, including the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by 2026.
SIRO has supported real progress for communities and businesses across our country. Their ten-year anniversary reflects a sustained commitment to delivery and innovation and promotes lasting change for communities across the country.”
SIRO CEO John Keaney commented:
“Ten years on from SIRO’s launch, as Ireland’s first fibre to the home network, today is a significant milestone for everyone who, over the last decade, has supported our vision of bringing access to fast, high quality and future proofed broadband connectivity to communities across Ireland. This includes our parents, ESB and Vodafone, our retail partners and their customers, our build contractors, local authorities, Government and State bodies who have supported this objective in various ways.
“SIRO’s commitment that all premises – homes and businesses – in the town of Carrigtwohill will soon be able to access fibre to the home broadband, as Ireland’s first fully fibred town, sets the bar for what both the telecoms industry and Government now need to strive to achieve over the coming years .
“In an increasingly competitive and digitising global market, Ireland needs every town to be Carrigtwohill – fully fibred and ready to leverage what world leading connectivity can unlock. To do this, key stakeholders must now prioritise switching off our outdated copper network.
“Now, more than ever, Ireland needs to play its best cards to continue to attract inward investment and stimulate growth by our domestic businesses. In this regard, our success in rolling out fibre networks is a distinct advantage Ireland needs to make the most of, to protect and grow our economy into the future”, added Mr. Keaney.
ESB Group CEO Paddy Hayes stated:
“SIRO’s success over the past 10 years has been driven by innovation and delivery. Built on ESB Network’s infrastructure, SIRO’s resilient connectivity supports Ireland to live and work more sustainably. At ESB, we share that same commitment to delivery, empowering customers and communities.
We appreciate the positive partnership with Vodafone and look forward to supporting further innovation and delivery for communities with SIRO.”
Vodafone Ireland CEO Sabrina Casalta noted:
“SIRO’s successful ten-year journey is a testament to what can be achieved through long-term vision and strong collaboration. From the outset, Vodafone believed in the transformative potential of full fibre broadband, and SIRO has delivered on that promise—bringing future-ready connectivity to towns and communities across Ireland.
“As we mark this milestone, it’s clear that continued investment in fibre infrastructure is not just a national priority, but a strategic imperative to ensure Ireland remains competitive and digitally resilient within the EU and beyond. I want to acknowledge and commend the dedication and hard work of the team at ESB, my Vodafone colleagues, and especially John and the wider SIRO team. Ten years of success is no small feat. Here’s to continued progress and impact.”
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