Eircom has gone live with the first phase of its €1.5bn fibre network which will deliver speeds up to 70Mbps to some 300,000 homes initially. By the time the network rollout is complete, it will reach more than 1.2m homes across Ireland.
Eircom is rolling out next-generation broadband systems that will bring fibre as far as the street with existing copper lines carrying the higher-speed data into the home or business via what’s known as VDSL.
The plan is to have 1m homes passed by the end of 2014 and Eircom recently revealed it is extending its coverage to 1.2m homes.
In late August or early September, Eircom will also launch its first 4G services.
At Eircom’s headquarters in Dublin this morning, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, launched the new network, which Eircom calls ‘eFibre’.
eFibre will offer download speeds of up to 70Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20Mbps.
The service will start at €40 for consumers and €24.79 for businesses. Eircom will begin taking orders from customers in areas where the next-generation broadband services are available.
The company said there will be an unlimited download allowance for all eFibre products above the entry level.
Existing Eircom broadband customers who qualify will be able to upgrade for free to eFibre, which will require a new type of modem, which will come free.
“This is the first in a series of announcements that will demonstrate how Eircom is offering customers fast, reliable and competitively priced products,” said Kevin White, consumer managing director at Eircom.
“No one else can offer a triple play bundle with eFibre, home phone and eMobile, and we won’t stop there, as we move towards introducing Ireland’s first quad-play service.”
Eircom claims eFibre is the only fibre, voice and mobile triple play offering in the market today.
For home customers, bundles with unlimited off-peak local and national calls prices start at €40 for 50Mbps and 30GB usage, €45 for 50Mbps and unlimited usage and €55 for 70Mbps with unlimited usage.
Triple play packages with home phone, fibre and mobile voice and data prices start at €55 for 50Mbps with 30GB and €70 for 70Mbps with unlimited usage.
Business products start at €24.79 for 30Mbps with one static IP address, €40 for 70Mbps and eight static IP addresses and €65 with up to eight static IP addresses.
“The speed and reliability of eFibre allows businesses to work faster, more efficiently and manage their costs effectively,” said Eircom director of SME David Walsh.
Fibre image via Shutterstock
