From left: Vodafone Ireland network director Sheila Kavanagh, Screen Ireland CFO Celine Forde, Crew CEO Niamh Costello, TriggerFish CEO Stuart Forrest and Siro CEO John Keaney. Image: Martina Regan
Galway’s upcoming Crew hub will be part of the Vodafone-Siro GigaBitHub initiative, giving it access to reliable broadband speeds.
Siro and Vodafone have announced a connectivity partnership to provide fibre broadband connectivity to an upcoming enterprise space in Galway.
The two organisations are providing their services to Galway’s Creative Enterprise West (Crew) hub, which will provide a shared space for businesses in the creative digital enterprise sector. This hub is scheduled to open in early 2024.
The announcement means the hub will be part of the Vodafone-Siro GigaBitHub initiative, which aims to provide reliable and resilient connectivity to digital hubs across Ireland.
The Crew hub will provide individual office spaces, co-working spaces and hot desks for 160 people working in this sector, along with accelerator programmes and wider outreach services across the Atlantic region. The facility will be located on the Galway city campus of Atlantic Technological University, one mile from Galway city centre.
Niamh Costello, the CEO of Crew, said the upcoming hub is set to be a “game changer” for the sector for both Galway and the west of Ireland.
“With world-class connectivity provided by Siro and Vodafone, our members will have the tools they need to drive innovation, collaboration and growth in this fast-growing industry,” Costello said. “We look forward to working with Siro and Vodafone to elevate Ireland’s creative industries sector as a global frontrunner.”
The GigaBitHub initiative launched in 2017 to help the connectivity of Ireland’s digital hubs. Since then, Siro and Vodafone said the initiative has partnered with 21 hubs across Ireland.
“The Crew Hub will help elevate the west’s creative industries sector, empowering individual and businesses to unlock the opportunities enabled by digital technologies,” said Siro CEO John Keaney. “This includes developing new creative technologies, collaborating remotely with other enterprises and reaching wider global audiences.
“The Siro-Vodafone partnership we are announcing today will provide the connectivity foundation which makes these ambitions possible.”
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