Wireless radio spectrum player AirSpeed Telecom has been awarded a contract to link up Údarás na Gaeltachta’s regional offices in Kerry, Galway and Donegal with 10Mbps broadband.
Under the terms of the new contract, AirSpeed Telecom will provide Údarás na Gaeltachta with reliable and high-capacity interconnections between the state agency’s regional offices in An Daingean, Co Kerry and An Bun Beag, Co Donegal, as well as connecting the Údarás na Gaeltachta headquarters at Na Forbacha, Co Galway to the Government network.
“This increased capacity network now available to our head office and regional offices will assist us in achieving efficiencies, as it enables our IT systems to operate more effectively,” said Seán Ó Ráighne, IT manager, Údarás na Gaeltachta.
AirSpeed Telecom will provide a bandwidth capacity of 10Mbps to each of the regional sites in Co Kerry and Co Donegal. Until now, these sites had been operating at just 2Mbps of bandwidth. In addition, Údarás na Gaeltachta headquarters will operate at a new, improved bandwidth capacity of 100Mbps and connection to the Government network at 50Mbps.
The contract with Údarás na Gaeltachta will require the addition of a new high site at RTÉ Maghera in north Clare, which will give the AirSpeed Telecom network access to Ennis, Co Clare and parts of Co Galway. It will also extend AirSpeed Telecom’s reach into Co Donegal, which is new territory for the company.
This is the third new contract win for AirSpeed Telecom in as many months. The company recently signed a deal with HEAnet to provide high-speed network services to facilitate its network extension to the Galway and Donegal Gaeltacht regions. In addition, AirSpeed Telecom also inked a deal with BreastCheck (NCSS) to provide a backup service for its cancer-screening units nationwide.
AirSpeed Telecom’s licensed wireless network offers an alternative to traditional networks and has the advantage of offering an uncontended high-bandwidth service of up to 800Mbps for business customer use only.
AirSpeed Telecom recently invested €2.3m in its network as part of a multimillion euro long-term investment plan, demonstrating the company’s commitment to remain at the leading edge of radio transmission service provision in Ireland. This investment involved the addition of 23 high-site locations to the network, providing a platform for greater national reach.
AirSpeed Telecom was also recently awarded multiple lots of 26GHz spectrum licences from the Commission for Communications Regulation, which will significantly increase capacity in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway for uncontended high-bandwidth services.
By John Kennedy
