From left: Eamon Ryan and Oliver Loomes. Image: Chris Bellew/Fennells
Having invested more than €1bn in the network so far, Eir expects to spend €250m per year until the end of 2026 in expansion.
More than 1m homes and businesses in Ireland are now connected to broadband through high-speed fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network provided by Eir.
The Irish telecom provider has committed to rolling out its gigabit broadband network to 1.9m premises in Ireland by the end of 2026. This represents a whopping 84pc of homes and businesses in the country. The remaining 16pc will be covered by National Broadband Ireland.
Ireland was ranked as the eighth most fibre-connected country in the EU by Eurostat last year, and Eir’s latest announcement today (22 February) may further strengthen its position. It is expected that all houses and businesses in Ireland will have fibre coverage by the end of 2028.
Eir chief executive Oliver Loomes said that he expects Ireland to be in the top five most fibre-connected countries in the EU this year as a result of Eir’s latest milestone.
“This is a major breakthrough for Ireland to become a top digital nation and it is in large part due to the efforts of our incredible teams who have worked tirelessly, in all conditions, to get this vital project done and connect homes and businesses for a better Ireland,” Loomes said.
Eir has invested more than €1bn in building the network to date and now expects to spend another €250m per year until the end of 2026 to meet its commitment.
The telecom provider has been making swift progress on its plans to expand its FTTH network. Last April, Eir announced it had crossed 800,000 premises with its high-speed fibre network. It surpassed 900,000 homes and businesses just six months later.
Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan, TD, said at an industry event in Dublin today that we are witnessing a “double-tracked industrial revolution of our time” along with a revolution in digitalisation.
“High-speed internet access is increasingly important to be able run businesses or farms, to utilise further smart technologies to make those homes and businesses more energy-efficient, to facilitate working remotely or to study from home in any part of the country,” he said.
“The Government commitment to providing high-speed broadband to every premises in Ireland by 2028 is well on schedule.”
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