Irish Broadband plans for customer surge


5 Aug 2005

Irish Broadband claims to be signing up more than 400 customers per week and expects this number to grow significantly during the second half of the year. The company also said it expects to offer near nationwide coverage before the end of the year.

The company made the announcement as it revealed it has placed orders for new wireless networking hardware worth in excess of €1.3m. These orders are mainly for wireless base stations and modems from the Texas-based equipment supplier Navini Networks.

Irish Broadband said the order would help to improve the coverage and density of its Ripwave wireless network over the next six months. Ripwave is the brand name for the companyÅfs home wireless broadband internet service.

Paul Doody, managing director of Irish Broadband, said he expected the rate of customer acquisition to increase “significantly” in the second half of 2005, based on demand for broadband experienced in the second quarter of the year.

Irish Broadband has been expanding its wireless network for three years using various Navini products in both the licensed and license-exempt spectrums. “Navini equipment has enabled us to add more customers at higher speeds and more quickly,” said Doody. “Our network is complete in all our major cities and towns and we are now building on this to provide near nationwide coverage by the end of 2005.”

The company currently offers services to business and residential customers in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Drogheda and Dundalk. According to the telecoms regulator the Commission for Communications Regulation, Irish Broadband is the second largest broadband services provider in the State.

By Gordon Smith