From left: Mark Shevlin, Leanne Connell, Marcella Rudden and Sean Dervan. Image: Cavan Digital Hub
This could be a small step toward reversing commuting and urban migration trends.
Cavan Digital Hub announced today (3 July) that it is set to become the latest co-working facility in Siro and Vodafone’s national Gigabit Hub Initiative.
Following investment of more than €600,000, the Cavan site will be the 13th hub connected through the initiative, which offers a gigabit broadband connection to qualifying business hubs, free of charge, for a duration of two years.
The Cavan co-working space, with hotdesk facilities for remote workers and office space for businesses setting up in or returning to Cavan, opened at the beginning of May and has already attracted anchor clients.
These clients include business intelligence and data analytics consultancy Apridata and cloud solutions company Glic Tech, both of which have an international customer base. Cinnte Technologies, which provides IT services to SMEs and schools in the region, has also settled in Cavan Digital Hub in the weeks since it opened.
Siro’s relationship with Cavan
The Siro roll-out in Cavan serves to boost its appeal to entrepreneurs, relocating businesses and remote workers. Cavan Digital Hub sits in close proximity to the N3, between Dublin and Belfast’s airports.
Cavan has played a key role in Siro’s history, as it was the wholesale broadband operator’s original trial location in 2015. Cavan Digital Hub is the third centre in Cavan to be connected to the Gigabit Hub Initiative, alongside the Centre for Social Gain, and Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre.
Ronan Whelan, chief commercial officer at Siro, was pleased to help the regional town. “Siro has formed a close partnership with Cavan County Council, which has been critical to adding Cavan Digital Hub to the Gigabit Hubs Initiative. The Siro network now extends to over 4,3000 homes and businesses in Cavan … High-speed broadband connectivity is vital for regional towns competing for investment, and having a strategic co-working facility with a one-gigabit broadband connection like Cavan Digital Hub makes Cavan a winning location.”
Leanne Connell, manager of Cavan Digital Hub, said: “Being able to offer businesses high-speed broadband has been a huge advantage to us. High-speed, reliable broadband has become an essential component of business, and we look forward to enabling digital businesses to grow and thrive in our facility.”
Regina Moran, Vodafone Ireland business director, commented on how Siro and Vodafone’s partnership is “helping promote rural Ireland as a place to do business”.
Moran explained why the initiative was set up: “The initiative allows people to work smarter, have a better work-life balance, and pursue careers in towns and villages across Ireland. Through our commitment to improve rural connectivity by bringing high-speed broadband to hubs such as Cavan Digital Hub, we can try reverse commuting and urban migration trends, and help increase productivity by allowing people to work closer to home. It will also create employment opportunities for the people of Cavan and surrounding communities.”
