Incumbent telecoms operator Eircom, which last week sought examinership in the High Court, today revealed the locations for Phase 2 of its fibre rollout in Ireland.
Last year, Eircom committed to a €100m Phase 1 plan to reach 1m households with fibre broadband over the next four years.
Phase 2 includes 13 communities in eight counties across Ireland. Work is expected to commence late this summer and will continue through to the end of 2012.
The locations announced today are in addition to 14 areas previously announced.
The communities include: Shantalla (Galway); Quaker Rd (Cork); Limerick City (Limerick); Rathedmond (Sligo); Ballincollig (Cork); Belcamp, Dun Laoghaire, Rochestown (Dublin); Ennis (Clare); Drogheda (Louth); Bray (Wicklow); Ballina and Castlebar (Mayo).
250k premises to have fibre services by year’s end
Eircom said once Phase 2 is completed, fibre will pass 250,000 homes and businesses within the 27 selected areas, providing speeds of 40Mbps and beyond.
The upgraded infrastructure will largely use fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) technology, but some direct fibre to the home (FTTH) will be used in certain areas.
“We have committed to providing 1m homes and business with fibre in the next three years,” Eircom CEO Paul Donovan said.
“Today’s announcement underlines our desire to remain focused on our strategic aim to provide fibre-based broadband services for Ireland.
“By the end of the year, more than 250,000 premises will be able to avail of new services on offer,” Donovan said.
