David McCourt, founder and chairman of Granahan McCourt
The completion of a deal by investment firm Granahan McCourt has seen the creation of a single, national gigabit network formed from Enet and AirSpeed Telecom.
The joining of Enet and AirSpeed Telecom has been two years in the making following Granahan McCourt Dublin’s (GMCD) acquisition of Enet back in 2013 followed by a deal to snap up AirSpeed Telecom a year later.
Now, according to GMCD, a joint operating agreement (JOA) will result in the two companies integrating their networks into a single national platform capable of delivering gigabit internet to large swathes of the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, Enet will be offering telecom solutions to wholesale customers of both companies while AirSpeed’s contribution will be to provide its fibre and licensed microwave infrastructure.
Additionally, Enet will be focusing on managing and maintaining both of the company’s networks while AirSpeed Telecom will focus on growing and servicing their own retail arm.
‘We hope to continue the trend of moving our assets into Ireland’
David C McCourt, chairman and CEO of Granahan McCourt Capital, said GMCD’s move was part of its long-term strategy to further develop Ireland’s telecoms.
“Both Enet and AirSpeed Telecom are high-growth operations that are well positioned and excellently managed,” McCourt said. “Both have a clear focus on delivering high-quality telecommunications services to organisations in every city, town and county in Ireland.”
He continued: “Ireland is very much at the forefront of the digital revolution, well ahead of Europe and the rest of the world and, as a result, Ireland is very much a cornerstone of our investment strategy going forward. We own other telecom and media businesses in Europe and we hope to continue the trend of moving our assets into Ireland.”
Following the JOA, AirSpeed Telecom has now appointed Timothy Wyllie as its new CEO following the departure of Liam O’Kelly who left following its acquisition last year.
