With an estimated 400,000 descending on Ennis recently for the first Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann held in the town in 39 years, Three is boasting some impressive figures from the event.
4G data use in Ennis was up 71pc during the week of the Fleadh, 3G up 59pc and the total number of mobile phone users with 4G capability was up 93pc. That’s according to Three, with figures released at the end of the event showing both how popular the Fleadh is, and the increase in the interactions we participate in online.
In total, 13.8TB passed through Three’s network in Ennis alone throughout the Fleadh, a massive jump on the average, with Elaine Carey, chief commercial officer at Three, saying consumer appetite for mobile data is growing by the day.
“Fifty-one per cent of all our data traffic comes from sites in rural areas,” said Carey, who claims just over half of all Three traffic is in rural areas of the country.
“Consumer appetite for mobile data is constantly growing and our customers love to capture every moment of their festival experiences on their smartphones and share them online.”
A €300m roll-out of connectivity upgrades around the country is credited by Three with facilitating the Fleadh figures, with these figures relating to data only, ignoring how much data was transferred over Wi-Fi.
Beyond Three’s figures, the social impact of the Fleadh stood out, too. During the week there were almost 600,000 interactions on the event’s Facebook page – meanwhile, more than 1m people tuned in to a special Fleadh TV over the course of the event.
Three, meanwhile, notes that Ennis is just one of 20 rural locations it has put money into lately to upgrade its connectivity.
The other sites are: Inagh, Crusheen, Shannon, Kildysart, Dromoland, Darragh, Manusmore, Spancil Hill, Caherscooby, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Tulla, Clarecastle, Kilnamona, Clonmoney, Drumline, Clarecastle, Sixmilebridge, Cahircalla and Lisseycasey.
Main bodhran image via Shutterstock
