NGN speeds of 1Gbps now available from 600 sites, Eircom says

15 Jun 2011

Eircom said today that its Next Generation Ethernet wholesale service is now available in more than 600 urban and rural locations. It says 14 operators are using the service, which is built on a network of 12,000 kilometres of fibre.

Chris Hutchings, managing director, Eircom Wholesale, said the cloud economy represents a real opportunity for Ireland.

“Next Generation Ethernet provides operators with the speed, reliability and flexibility to take full advantage of that opportunity.”

Commenting on the take-up of Next Generation Ethernet, Hutchings continued: “Fourteen operators are now providing service using Next Generation Ethernet from Eircom Wholesale. To date, we’ve installed NGN nodes in over 600 urban and provincial locations. So whether customers are in Ballsbridge or Ballinrobe, operators such as Strencom are able to offer Irish enterprises ultra high-bandwidth NGN connections.

“The Next Generation Core is built on more than 12,000 kilometres of fibre together with a network of IP routers, each capable of supporting eight times the current internet traffic level demanded by all of Eircom’s wholesale and retail broadband customers combined.”

A change of heart at Eircom?

For much of the last decade, Eircom has been roundly criticised in the industry and by the public for not embracing wholesale sufficiently to allow the telecoms market in Ireland to grow and this has been one of the factors seen as key to slow broadband take-up by businesses.

One of the operators using the NGN Core service, independent Cork-based telco Strencom, says there has been a change of approach at the incumbent, which is now allowing other operators to access the network.

Strencom uses the Eircom Next Generation Core Network and provides the high bandwidth businesses require to securely upload and download large amounts of data when using applications remotely located in the cloud.

The company provides broadband and cloud services to organisations like RPS Group and Alliance Medical, and said Irish businesses are using the NGN speeds to transition to more bandwidth-intensive work practices.

“One of our customers is transitioning entirely from physical to digital delivery of product; the availability of NGN core bandwidth is facilitating the future of such companies in Ireland,” said Strencom CEO Tim Murphy.

“We know of multinational companies based in Ireland pitching within their groups to make Ireland the centre for global research and development projects.

“The huge bandwidth that Eircom Wholesale’s NGN Core provides is fundamental in enabling operators such as Strencom to develop the IP-based solutions that underpin those projects,” Murphy said.

Photo: Tim Murphy, CEO, Strencom, at the launch of services using Eircom’s Next Generation Core Network, with Chris Hutchings, managing director, Eircom Wholesale

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com