Cork-based internet service provider Strencom has signed a deal worth €500k with E-Net, the company responsible for managing the Government’s €70m network of metropolitan area networks (MANs), to enable site-to-site gigabit connectivity for its customers.
Under the terms of the deal, which will go live today, Strencom has purchased network access from E-Net that will enable the company to rollout and self-manage its own services on the network.
The MANs — which have been deployed across towns with more than 1,500 populations — are in turn connected nationwide via a backhaul agreement between E-Net, BT Ireland and ESB Telecoms.
The E-Net contract provides Strencom with immediate access to the 27 MANs in major towns and cities throughout Ireland, a significant expansion for the company.
Tim Murphy, managing director of Strencom, commented: “As a mid-sized, indigenous telecom operator, we are very pleased that we can now compete with major national and international competitors on an equal, and sometimes superior, footing. We can now provide greater flexibility to our customers as we have our own dedicated network and we are not dependent on other service providers. This allows us to keep ahead of customer demand and add new services as soon as they are required.”
The increase in services allows Strencom to widen its current broadband and SME customer base and target larger enterprise communications requirements.
One of the new offerings available is wholesale collocation for other licensed telecommunications operators that want to establish a point of presence in Cork. Wholesale clients will be attracted by the availability of unused network ‘dark fibre’ capacity, as well as Strencom’s bulk circuits, which can reduce leased-line costs by up to 70pc, the company says.
Pictured: Michael Tiernan, chief executive of E-Net with Tim Murphy, managing director of Cork internet service provider Strencom
By John Kennedy
