Image: Francesco Scatena/Shutterstock
Three Ireland is keeping to its €100m-a-year network investment commitment.
Three Ireland is sticking to its ambitious €100m network investment plan with a capital expenditure (capex) of €62m already for the first half of 2018.
The company said that it now has more than 97pc population coverage for 4G.
‘Overall data traffic on the Three Ireland network has increased by 50pc year on year and our data roaming traffic is up 280pc year on year’
– THREE IRELAND
In its interim results for January to June 2018, the company recorded a 22pc increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to €94m. This was despite a 4pc decrease in customer service margins due to the new EU roaming regulations.
The EBIDTA increase is being attributed to a 4pc rise in customer numbers to 2.1m and reduced operating costs by 11pc compared with last year.
5G roll-out plan
Three reported that it now carries two-thirds of Ireland’s total mobile data.
“Overall data traffic on the Three Ireland network has increased by 50pc year on year and our data roaming traffic is up 280pc year on year, as our customers benefit from the large data roaming allowances while abroad,” the company stated.
The €62m capex for the first half of 2018 is in keeping with a commitment made earlier this year by Three to invest €100m a year on a 5G roll-out plan.
In the 5G spectrum allocations by ComReg last year, Three Ireland secured 100MHz nationally.
CEO Robert Finnegan said earlier this year: “In 2017, we were the only operator to secure uniform national 5G spectrum across Ireland and not prioritise urban areas, which will ensure that all our customers can reap the benefits of increased connectivity in the years to come.
“Three wanted to secure 100MHz of 5G spectrum nationally and not to differentiate between rural and urban areas. We are delighted that we are the only bidder that was able to achieve that,” Finnegan said at the time.
