Mobile operator 3 has revealed it now has the widest 3G network coverage in Ireland with 72pc of the population covered. The company claims this is one of the fastest network rollouts in European telecoms history. It also revealed it has 99.5pc population coverage for talk and text.
3 said this morning it is ahead of schedule in terms of its network rollout and will beat the regulatory requirement of having 85pc of population covered by 3G by the end of 2007, as stipulated in its 3G license agreement with the Commission for Communications Regulation.
“The expansion of our network in Ireland is a further testament to our commitment to bring exciting video mobile services to the Irish population as quickly as possible,” said the company’s managing director for Ireland, Robert Finnegan.
3 says it has undertaken one of the fastest network rollouts in European telecoms history, which it carried out in conjunction with Nokia, NEC and Siemens Mobile.
The company said the pace of the rollout is set to continue and stated it will continue to leverage its leadership in 3G services for the benefit of the Irish consumer. 3’s 3G network now covers all the cities and major towns in Ireland, the company said.
The chief technology officer of 3 Ireland and UK, David Cooper (pictured), said: “We have built our 3G network from the ground up and are investing around €200m to ensure we have the best possible network available to the Irish population.
“With no legacy equipment to manage and significant investment continually being made in the latest 3G equipment, 3 provides Irish consumers with a ‘great value, superb quality’ network for video mobile services,” Cooper said.
By John Kennedy
