Cork to become Irish ‘broadband capital’
Cork will become the “broadband capital of Ireland” that will assist the region “to compete with anywhere in Europe” following a €60m investment that will reach 75,000 premises.
Siro, a joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone, said the €60m would bring the Republic’s fastest broadband available to over 75,000 homes and businesses in Cork city and towns.
The city centre and suburbs will be joined by Little Island and Ballincollig, as well as Midleton, Carrigtwohill, Blarney, Tower and Charleville as the new “gigabit towns”.
Chinese giant Huawei has been appointed as build partner for 65,000 homes and businesses in the city, with TLI Group servicing 10,000 premises in the five towns.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney told members of Cork Chamber on hand for the launch of the service, which will begin later this year, that it was the “job of the Government not to allow the urban-rural divide anymore”.
He said county towns in Cork would have a “whole new chapter” and that without high-speed broadband, it was as “debilitating” as having no proper roads.
Cork was more economically resilient than ever before, Mr Coveney said, and the €60m investment would help the region compete with anywhere in Europe.
“This will give Cork businesses a head start against their peers both at home and internationally, as well as giving homes access to the latest innovative digital services,” he said.
Chief executive of Siro, Sean Atkinson, said the €60m investment would “firmly establish Cork as the broadband capital of Ireland”.
Our gigabit connectivity will complement Cork’s rich technology heritage and put it on a par with international cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo.
“Cork City is ideally placed to leverage this with in excess of one million square foot of office space due to come on-stream over the next year, with rental prices less than half the price of equivalent space in Dublin on average; a 23% lower cost of living; and a talented workforce with half of the Cork population under 35 years of age,” he said.
Cork Chamber president Bill O’Connell said given the strong growth of sectors such as global financial services, fintech, ICT, SaaS and cyber security in Cork, it is absolutely essential that business is supported by the best quality connectivity.
“We have the lowest latency transatlantic connection in Europe, new connections to mainland Europe in planning and now the local connectivity to match. It builds further resilience for an economy increasingly driven by data.
