Digiweb is to enter the high-speed broadband fray by becoming SIRO’s latest retail partner
Digiweb is to enter the high-speed broadband fray by becoming SIRO’s latest retail partner, with its services to range from 150Mbps up to 1Gbps in Dundalk, Letterkenny and Drogheda, ahead of a national roll-out next year.
SIRO, the €450m joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone, is one of the three consortia shortlisted by the Irish Government for the National Broadband Plan roll-out to connect close to 1m homes and businesses to high-speed fibre services.
As the second retail partner to join SIRO, Digiweb will launch a number of 100pc fibre-optic broadband packages for residential and business customers under the “Electric Broadband” tagline.
‘We want to migrate Ireland from legacy copper-based networks to 100pc fibre-optic networks’
– SEAN ATKINSON, SIRO
The services will go live in Dundalk, Letterkenny and Drogheda during 2016, before Digiweb increases its availability across the country as SIRO’s roll-out continues.
Digiweb plans to launch services that start at 150Mbps and range up to 1Gbps, with pricing start at €45 per month.
“It will be great to be able to offer our customers SIRO-powered broadband packages of up to 1Gbps, enabling us to deliver one of the most powerful broadband services available in Ireland,” said Declan Campbell, managing director of Digiweb.
Light and substance
SIRO is clearly aiming to differentiate itself from competitors like Eir by pointing out that its services are 100pc fibre-powered and don’t rely on copper.
It claims its connectivity is three times more powerful than current market-leading services in Dublin and 10 times more powerful than the market leader in rural Ireland.
But just how it will serve rural Ireland beyond existing plans to connect homes and businesses in 50 towns to 1Gbps FTTH services remains to be seen.
“Our network is better than the alternatives as it is powered entirely by light, future-proofing the country’s broadband needs for decades,” SIRO CEO Sean Atkinson said.
“Our ambition is to become the new national telecoms infrastructure. We want to migrate Ireland from legacy copper-based networks to 100pc fibre-optic networks, this will ensure that people across the country can avail of next generation services and drive the economy forward.”
High-speed image via Shutterstock
